Columbia  ^nitJeri^ftp 


LIBRARY 


MAJOE  GENERAL  PHILIP  H.  SHERIDAN. 


ILLUSTRATED  LIFE,  CMPAIGNS 


AND   PUBLIC  SERVICES   OF 


PHILIP  H.   SHERIDAN. 


(MAJOR-GENERAL    SHERIDAN.) 


THE 


Hero  of  the  "  Shenandoali  Valley,"  "  Battle  of  Pive  Forks,"  etc. 


BT    0.    W,   DEIsTISOK 


With  a  full  history  of  his  Life.  Battles  and  Campaigns.  With  a 
Portrait  of  General  Sheridan,  and  other  illustrative  engra- 
vings of  the  "Battles  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley,"  •'  Battle  of  Fivd 
Forks,"  "  Sheridan's  Ride  to  the  Front,"  at  Winchester,  etc. 


PHILA  DELPHIA: 

T.  B.  PETERSON   &  BROTHERS, 
306    CHESTNUT    STREET, 


Entered,  jicconlirig  to  Act  of  Cori^^res.-'.  iu  the  ye.tr  lS(-i5,  b^ 

T.  v..  PKTKRSOX  A  LKOTIIER?!, 

In  the  Clork"B  Ofrice  of  the  Di<tnot  (\Mi:t   ;.:f  the  U:iito(i   .'-:tiitt-.  iM  :in<I    for    tlw 

E;<olerii  iJistiiLt  if  5'i':in.>ylvaniii. 


PREFACE. 


The  accompanying  pages  have  been  compiled 
from   authentic   materials. 

It  is  the  object  of  the  writer  to  do  justice  to  the 
distinguished  American  general,  whose  signal  services 
in  the  field  have  awakened  such  enthusiasm  among  our 
countrymen.  To  accomplish  this,  the  strictest  care 
has  been  observed  with  reference  to  authorities.  No 
statement  is  made  in  this  volume  that  is  not  in  every 
respect   attested   by  the   facts. 


C.  W.  D. 


PniLADELrHiA,  December  8th,  1865. 
21 


1 70429 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 
General  Sheridan's  Early  History 25 

CHAPTER  II. 
Enters  Active  Service 29 

CHAPTER  III. 
First  Battles 32 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Western  Battles 39 

CHAPTER  V. 
Chattanooga 43 

CHAPTER  YL 
Personal  Sketch  of  General  Sheridan,  by  one  of  his  Staff. .     46 

CHAPTER  YII. 
Sheridan  in  Tennessee 51 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

General  Sheridan  inVirginia 56 

2S 


24  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  IX. 
At  Fort  Powhatan  and  Petersburg 69 

CHAPTER  X. 

Last  Campaign  in  the  Shenandoah — The  Advance — AflFair 
at  Newtown — The  Advance  continued — Battle  of  Crooked 
Run — Affairs  at  Summit  Point — Fisher's  Hill — Port 
Republic — OflBcial  Despatches  from  General  Sheridan 
and  others — Congratulation  to  the  Cavalry — Battle  of 
Cedar  Creek — Arrival  of  General  Sheridan — The  tide 
turned — Sheridan's  Ride,  by  Thomas  Buchanan  Read — 
Characteristic  Despatch  from  General  Sheridan — Com- 
ments on  General  Sheridan — Congratulatory  Order — 
The  Devastation  of  the  Yalley — Sheridan  as  a  Gun- 
Taker .' 71-121 

CHAPTER  XI. 

The  Great  Virginia  Raid — March  to  Lynchburg — OflBcial 
Despatches  from  General  Sheridan — Official  Despatches 
from  the  Secretary  of  "War — Raid  toward  Richmond — 
Report  from  General  Sheridan 122-141 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Sheridan's  part  in  the  fall  of  the  Rebel  Capital — ^The  Battle 
of  Five  Forks — Fall  of  Richmond  and  Petersburg — Offi- 
cial Report  of  General  Sheridan — Sheridan's  Instructions 
to  General  Warren — Rebel  Flags  Captured — Summary 
of  Cavalry  Captures  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley 142-173 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
Testimony  to  the  Value  of  American  Cavalry 174 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Conclusion — Cavalry  Sheridan,  by  George  H.  Boker, 
Esq 192-197 


THE  LIFE  AND  SERVICES 

OP 

GENERAL  PHILIP  HENRY  SHERIDAN. 


<  1 1  ^  ■»  » 


CHAPTER  I. 

HIS   EARLY    HISTORY. 

Philip  Henry  Sheridan  was  born  in  Massachusetts, 
in  the  year  1831.  His  parents,  as  might  be  inferred  from 
the  name,  are  of  Irish  descent.  While  Philip  was  yet 
a  child,  they  removed  from  Massachusetts  to  Perry 
county,  Ohio.  Their  circumstances  compelled  them  to 
limit  his  opportunities  for  acquiring  an  education.  The 
lad  might  be  seen,  at  this  time,  driving  a  water-cart,  and 
earning  his  own  living,  in  the  town  of  Zanesville.  It 
was  here  he  first  attracted  the  attention  of  the  then 
member  of  Congress  for  that  district.  By  the  aid  gf  an 
elder  brother,  who  was  possessed  of  some  political  influ- 
ence in  that  quarter,  he  was  so  commended  to  the  confi- 
dence of  the  Congressman,  that,  in  the  year  1848,  he  was 
admitted  as  a  United  States  cadet  at  West  Point  military 
academy. 

In  June,  1853,  he  graduated,  and  immediately  received 

his  appointment  as  brevet  second  lieutenant  in  the  First 

United  States  infantry.     In  the  fall  of  the  same  year  he 

joined    his   company   at   Port   Duncan,    on    the    Texas 

frontier. 

He  was  now  twenty -two  years  of  age.     At  the  time 

25 


26  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GKNERAL   SHERIDAN". 

of  which  we  write,  the  Indians  were  engaged  in  active 
hostilities  against  the  United  States.  So  elBBciently  did 
Sheridan  perform  his  duties  at  this  post,  that  he  was 
soon  promoted  to  full  second-lieutenant  in  the  Fourth 
United  States  infantry,  and  transferred  to  the  frontiers 
of  Oregon.  During  the  months  of  May  and  June,  while 
on  his  way  to  Oregon,  he  was  placed  in  command  of  a 
detachment  of  United  States  troops,  stationed  at  Fort 
"Wood,  in  the  harbor  of  New  York.  In  the  ensuing  July 
he  set  sail  for  San  Francisco,  California,  in  charge  of  a 
considerable  number  of  recruits  for  the  Pacific  division 
of  the  army. 

On  arriving  in  Oregon,  he  was  given  the  command  of 
an  escort  for  the  exploring  expedition  of  Lieutenant 
"Wilkinson,  at  that  time  engaged  in  making  a  survey  of 
the  proposed  route  for  a  bra.nch  of  the  Pacific  railroad 
between  San  Francisco  and  Columbia  river,  on  the  Oregon 
coast.  In  this  expedition  there  was  an  efficient  corps  of 
scientific  gentlemen,  employed  for  the  purpose  by  the 
United  States  Government.  By  being  introduced  to 
their  society,  and  mingling  with  them  in  their  explora- 
tions from  day  to  day,  Sheridan  was  favored  with  oppor- 
tunities for  acquiring  much  valuable  information.  That 
the  ejfpedition  was  a  useful  one,  is  attested  by  the  reports 
published  by  order  of  Congress,  and  that  Lieutenant 
Sheridan  performed  his  duties  well,  is  proved  by  the 
official  communications  of  Lieutenant  Wilkinson.  He  was 
publicly  commended  for  his  conduct  on  this  occasion  in 
all  the  reports  submitted  to  Congress. 

In  the  fall  of  the  year  1855,  Sheridan  was  ordered  to 
join  a  detachment  of  dragoons,  under  Major  Raines, 
stationed  at  Vancouver,  Washington  Territory.  From 
this  point  an  expedition  moved  against  the  Yokima 
Indians.  At  the  Cascades  of  the  Columbia,  on  the  28th 
of  April,  1856,  the  young  lieutenant  discharged  his  duty 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  27 

SO  well  during  an  engagement  with  these  Indians,  that, 
his  conduct  was  especially  commended  in  general  orders. 

In  the  month  of  May  following  he  was  made  com- 
mander of  the  department  embracing  the  Yokima  Reserva- 
tion, including  that  section  of  the  mountain  coast  range, 
and  received  the  commendation  of  the  government  for 
soldierly  conduct. 

It  will  be  borne  in  mind  that  a  peculiar  fitness  is  re- 
quired for  the  command  of  these  military  posts  among  the 
hostile  Indian  tribes.  To  do  well  in  such  a  command  is 
a  good  indication  for  any  young  ofi&cer.  Such  was  the 
success  of  Sheridan.  He  who  can  succeed  in  controlling 
fighting  savages  among  the  fastnesses  of  the  Dalles  of  the 
Columbia,  may  reasonably  be  expected  to  triumph  any- 
where, and  among  the  most  dangerous  foes  of  our 
country. 

During  his  command  in  this  wild  and  unfrequented 
region,  Sheridan  evinced  his  military  talents  by  his  whole 
course,  and,  especially,  by  his  selection  of  a  military  post 
for  the  United  States  in  the  valley  of  the  Seletz.  For 
this  selection,  as  well  as  for  his  general  course  in  tho 
Yokima  country,  he  was  publicly  commended  by  the 
brave  old  chieftain,  Lieutenant-Gene ral  Scott.  His  con- 
duct in  the  settlement  of  serious  difficulties  with  the 
Yokima  Bay  tribes  was  in  the  highest  degree  meritorious, 
and  was  so  mentioned  in  the  official  documents. 

One  distinct  feature  of  military  character  which  early 
distinguished  Sheridan,  and  which  continues  to  mark  his 
course  as  an  officer  of  the  army,  is  his  strict  obedience  to 
orders.  He  at  once  saw  the  necessity  of  this  course, 
stationed  at  a  distance  from  his  chief  department,  sur- 
rounded by  wily  foes,  and  held  personally  responsible  for 
the  men  and  effects  committed  to  his  care.  It  is  this  that 
has  given  such  efficiency  to  his  subsequent  movements, 
and  that  has  led  him  to  hold  his  own  subordinates,  how- 


23  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GEXERAL   SHERTDAX. 

ever  prominent  and  efiScient,  to  the  same  strict  account 
to  which  he  has  always  himself  submitted. 

Receiving  the  approbation  of  his  superiors  for  his 
general  conduct  on  the  Indian  frontier,  and  especially  for 
his  skill  and  good  judgment  in  the  establishment  of 
another  military  post  at  Yamhill,  he  was  promoted  to  the 
captaincy  of  the  thirteenth  United  States  infantry,  in 
March,  1861,  and  was  stationed  at  Jefferson  barracks, 
Missouri,  in  the  fall  of  that  year. 

At  this  post  he  became  a  member  of  a  special  military 
commission,  appointed  to  audit  certain  claims  growing 
out  of  the  occupation  of  Missouri  by  a  portion  of  the 
United  States  army.  Of  this  commission,  as  Captain 
Sheridan,  he  was  made  president,  and  acted  with  skill 
and  efficiency  in  that  capacity,  receiving  the  commenda- 
tion of  the  national  War  Department. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1861  he  was  appointed  chief 
quartermaster  and  commissary  of  the  army  of  tho 
Southwest.  This  was  rapid  promotion  for  the  young 
soldier,  but  it  was  not  more  rapid  than  he  had  fairly 
earned. 

Sheridan  was  well  iBtted  for  quartermaster  and  com- 
missary. While  all  admitted  him  to  be  neat  in  person, 
courteous  in  demeanor,  affable  in  conversation,  exact  in 
business  relations,  strict  in  orders,  regulations  and  estab- 
lished military  customs,  he  proved  himself  to  possess 
the  requisite  vital  energy  and  force  essential  to  success. 

Yery  few  men  in  the  army  can  make  a  first  class 
quartermaster  and  commissary.  They  may  be  said  to  be 
almost  as  scarce  as  that  select  portion  of  society  who  are 
supposed  to  "know  how  to  keep  a  hotel."  Something 
of  this  feature  in  the  character  of  Sheridan  may  be 
judged  by  the  fact  that  he  soon  became,  and  ever 
after    remained   when    in    that    department,    a    mastei 


TJFE    OF    MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN".  29 

quartermaster,    and    a  necessary  commissar j.     He   had 
no  superior  in  his  difficult  and  responsible  position. 

In  May,  1864,  he  was  stationed  at  Corinth,  Mississippi, 
as  chief  quartermaster  and  commissary  on  the  staff  of 
General  Halleck,  having  shown,  by  his  experience  in  his 
calling,  by  his  devotion  to  details,  by  his  skill  and  tact, 
how  well  he  was  fitted  for  the  post. 


CHAPTER  II. 

ENTERS  ACTIVE   SERVICE. 

On  the  27th  of  May,  1862,  Captain  Sheridan  was  ap- 
pointed colonel  of  the  body  of  United  States  troops  known 
as  the  second  Michigan  cavalry.  It  was  here  that  he 
began  his  distinguished  career  as  a  cavalry  of&cer.  He 
took  this  position  for  active  service  at  a  time  when  the 
army  of  the  Southwest  had  already  distinguished  itself  by 
the  brilliant  victories  of  Keetsville,  Pea  Ridge,  Sugar 
Creek,  Cross  Hollows,  and  on  many  another  well-fought 
field  through  the  country  of  northern  and  central  Ar- 
kansas. 

But  it  was  everywhere  admitted  in  the  army  that  the 
cavalry  arm  needed  to  be  strengthened.  In  all  the  battles 
we  had  thus  far  fought,  the  southern  cavalry  had  done 
comparatively  well.  It  was  more  numerous,  more  expe- 
rienced, and  better  drilled  than  our  own.  The  men  of  the 
south  were  not  more  brave  than  ours.  That  we  had  abun- 
dantly proved  in  every  engagement.  But  the  southern 
horse,  as  a  body,  were  far  more  accustomed  to  the  saddle, 
and  to  all  the  evolutions  of  cavalry.  It  might  be  said  of 
the  Southron,  especially  him  of  Virginia,  Kentucky,  Ten- 


30  LIFE   OF  MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

nesseo,  Texas,  and  other  parts  of  the  southwest,  that  he 
was  born  on  horseback,  booted,  spurred  and  armed  for 
battle.  He  was  familiar  with  every  mountain  pass  and 
gorge,  every  defile  and  summit,  every  by-path  and  wooded 
copse,  where  infantry  and  artillery  would  be  at  fault,  and 
where  cavahy  would  fight  to  advantage.  The  southern 
cavalryman  had  been  accustomed  to  the  sudden  and  fierv 
charge,  the  leap  from  the  hidden  hill-side,  the  dash 
through  the  dark  and  narrow  valley,  the  secret  deploy 
among  tangled  ferns  and  thick-set  chapparals,  until  he 
came  to  look  on  the  feat  of  surprising  our  undisciplined 
infantry  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  of  surrounding  our 
artillery  as  a  necessary  consequence  of  superior  advantage 
in  position,  numbers  and  speed. 

As  the  war  progressed,  in  its  earlier  stages,  it  became 
the  constant  boast  of  the  southern  leaders  that  the  troops 
of  the  United  States  could  not  and  would  not  withstand 
their  cavalry.  Stuart,  Fitz  Hugh  Lee,  Hampton,  and 
other  names  of  some  of  these  leaders,  soon  became  the 
synonyms  of  all  that  was  alert,  dashing,  courageous  and 
successful. 

The  great  majority  of  the  Union  commanders,  on  the 
other  hand,  gradually  came  to  admit  the  practical  effect 
of  these  facts,  until  it  was  almost  generally  under- 
stood that  they  were  not  satisfied  with  their  cavalry. 
There  were  local  and  individual  exceptions,  of  course — ex- 
ceptions that  were  all  the  more  honorable  to  the  Union 
service  because  they  were  necessarily  so  rare — but  the 
great  conviction  of  the  army  and  the  country  was  fixed 
and  strong  that  our  cavalry  needed  to  be  much  improved 
ere  it  could  accomplish  all  that  was  needed  to  secure  the 
final  victory. 

It  is  at  this  critical  moment  that  Sheridan  appears  on 
the  field  of  active  duty.     As  we  enter  with  him  on  his 


LIFE   OiP    MAJOR-GENERAL    SHERIDAN.  ol 

brilliant  career,  wo  may  glance  at  the  peculiarities  of  char- 
acter which  distinguish  him  as  a  great  commander. 

His  genial  and  attractive  qualities  endeared  him,  at  the 
outset,  to  his  fellow  officers  and  soldiers.  All  his  subor- 
dinates unite  to  bear  witness  to  his  superior  social  quali- 
ties, while  his  men  have  ever  looked  on  him  with  deep 
affection.  He  had  the  happy  faculty  of  mingling  what 
was  due  to  official  respect  with  kindly  courtesy,  so  that 
strict  discipline  and  personal  geniality  secured  prompt 
and  cheerful  obedience  to  orders.  It  was  his  custom  to 
give  his  personal  attention  to  the  minute  details  of  his 
position,  and,  while  doing  so,  to  impart  valuable  informa- 
tion to  those  who  sought  it  at  his  hands.  His  just  pride 
in  all  that  relates  to  military  discipline  was  never  allowed 
to  interfere  with  the  courtesies  due  from  the  well-bred 
gentleman.  Hence  his  wide-spread  and  long-continued 
popularit}''  in  the  Union  army. 

At  the  time  of  which  we  now  write  the  movements  of 
the  troops  under  General  Curtis  required  great  skill  and 
energy  in  the  quartermaster's  department.  These  were 
found  to  be  abundantly  supplied  in  Sheridan.  In  the 
establishment  of  army  depots,  the  organization  *of  trans- 
portation trains,  the  supply  of  food  and  materiel  for  the 
army  in  motion,  he  was  equal  to  any  emergency.  With 
General  Halleck,  at  Corinth,  the  same  valuable  qualities 
of  character  were  developed  in  Sheridan,  conferring  bene- 
fits on  the  then  comparatively  inexperienced  army  of  the 
Southwest,  that  w^ere  not  only  felt  through  that  depart- 
ment, but,  to  a  certain  extent,  through  all  the  armies  of 
the  Republic. 


32  LIFE    OF    MAJOK-GEXEliAL   SHEKIDAN. 


CHAPTER  III. 

riRST   BATTLES. 

In  the  month  of  July,  1861,  Sheridan  won  his  brigadier's 
star.  It  was  in  the  hard-fought  action  of  Booneville. 
In  less  than  six  weeks  from  the  time  he  was  made  a  colo- 
nel of  cavalry,  he  was  placed  in  command  of  the  second 
brigade  of  the  cavalry  division  of  the  army  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi. While  stationed  at  Booneville  he  was  suddenly 
attacked  by  the  rebel  General  Chalmers,  at  the  head  of 
over  five  thousand  picked  southern  cavalrymen. 

The  rebels  confidently  advanced,  with  all  the  eclat  of 
position  upon  them,  and  with  all  the  elan  of  assured  suc- 
cess. Sheridan's  force  consisted  only  of  his  own  regiment 
and  the  second  Iowa  cavalry.  With  this  small  but  de- 
termined body  of  men  he  skirmished  with  the  rebels,  until 
they  were  checked,  and  taught,  for  almost  the  first  time 
in  their  cavalry  history,  that  it  was  one  thing  to  advance 
with  a  dash  and  quite  another  to  win  the  final  victory. 
They  were  held  for  some  time  in  check  by  Sheridan,  on 
the  edge  of  a  deep  swamp,  where  he  occupied  an  advan- 
tageous position.  From  this  point,  by  a  movement  of 
strategy  that  at  once  developed  his  character,  he  deployed 
a  detachment  of  his  men  to  the  rear  of  the  rebels,  and  took 
them  completely  by  surprise.  They  supposed,  from  the 
manner  of  the  charge  of  Sheridan's  men,  that  they  must 
be  backed  up  by  a  large  reserve  force,  and  fell  back  in 
confusion.  At  the  same  moment  Sheridan  attacked  their 
front  in  person  in  his  most  impetuous  style,  rolling  them 
up  in  the  utmost  disorder  along  the  whole  line.  Stricken 
with  dismay  the  enemy  fled  from  the  field,  running  as  fast 
as  their  horses  would  carry  them  a  distance  of  twenty 


LIFE   OF    MAJOK-GJuNKUAL    SHEKIDAN.  83 

miles,  and  leaving  arms,  eqaipmeuts,  clothing  and  other 
trophies  of  war  scattered  along  the  route. 

This  was  one  of  the  first  actions  of  the  war  in  which  the 
boasted  charm  of  the  southern  cavalry  was  broken.  It 
was  a  most  fitting  occasion  for  which  to  confer  on  Sheridan 
the  well-earned  title  of  brigadier-general.  He  at  once 
began  to  attract  public  attention.  His  personal  appe;ii- 
ance  began  to  fill  the  eyes  of  his  countrymen.  His 
stature  is  small — not  more  than  five  feet  six  inches.  His 
chest  is  broad  and  compact ;  his  muscles  are  firm  and 
active ;  his  face  is  open  and  singularly  expressive  ;  his 
brow  is  comparatively  broad  and  high  ;  his  eyes  are  dark, 
clear,  quick  in  motion  ;  his  head  long  and  well-balanced, 
and  covered  with  a  full  crop  of  curling  black  hair. 

Such  is  Cavalry  Sheridan. 

At  the  time  of  his  entrance  on  his  celebrated  career  as  a 
cavalry  commander,  he  was  well  aware  of  the  difficulties 
that  surrounded  the  cavalry  arm  of  the  service.  How  well 
he  has  done  his  part  in  removing  those  difficulties,  and  to 
what  distinctions  he  has  helped  to  raise  the  patriot 
horsemen  of  our  country,  the  pages  of  this  volume  abun- 
dantly prove. 

While  on  service  at  Booneville,  Sheridan  turned  his 
quartermaster  facilities  to  good  account,  by  capturing  a 
considerable  number  of  the  horses  and  cattle  of  the  rebels. 
In  this  vicinity,  at  a  place  called  Ricuzi,  he  was  attacked 
by  the  enemy's  cavalry,  under  Colonel  Faulkner,  and  de- 
feated them,  making  several  valuable  captures,  and 
driving  the  remnant  in  great  disorder  as  far  as  the  town  of 
Ripley. 

On  the  1th  of  September  he  was  ordered  to  proceed 
with  the  second  Michigan  cavalry,  and  report  to  the  army 
in  Kentucky.  He  reached  Louisville  in  a  short  time,  and 
was  soon  put  in  command  of  the  third  division  of  the 
army  of  the  Ohio,  composed,  at  that  time,  of  ten  regiments 


S-i  LIFE    OF    MA.IOR-GKNERAL    SHERIDAN. 

of  iufaiilrv.oue  (jf  cavalrv,  and  two  butteries  of  ai'tilleiy. 
The  cotintry  through  which  tliey  iiuii'ched  bears  to  this 
day  the  evidence  of  the  valor  with  which  these  troops  of 
Sheridan  defended  it.  The  enemy  was  close  at  hand, 
under  skilful  and  determined  generals.  Surprises  were 
constantly  expected,  on  every  side.  The  numerous  rifle- 
pits  and  embankments  thrown  up  in  this  quarter,  abun- 
dantly attest  to  the  vigilance  with  vvhich  Sheridan 
guarded  his  new  trust,  and  the  courage  with  which  he  de- 
feuded   the  rights  of  the  people  of  the  great  west. 

In  this  cami)aign  Sheridan  accompanied  Buell  in  the 
march  against  Bragg.  He  was  then  transferred  to  the 
command  of  the  eleventh  division  of  the  army  of  the 
Ohio,  which  embraced  a  larger  body  of  cavalry  than  the 
second.  At  Perryville  he  was  assigned  a  still  more  im- 
portant position.  Hardee,  Leydell,  and  other  rebel  gen- 
erals, were  actively  engaged  in  the  vicinity,  having 
attacked  our  troops  on  the  heights  of  Doctor's  creek  and 
been  repulsed  by  Sheridan.  On  the  afternoon  of  the 
8th  of  October,  another  attack  was  made  on  his  position 
by  a  strong  force  under  Hardee.  The  conflict  was  stern 
and  long-continued  ;  but  the  valor  and  dash  of  Sheridan 
triumphed,  although  assailed  by  a  combined  and  furious 
body  of  artillery,  cavalry  and  infantry.  The  infantry  re- 
sorted to  the  bayonet,  and  charged  up  the  hill  with  that 
short  curt  yell  peculiar  at  one  time  to  the  rebels.  They 
evidently  counted  on  a  certain  and  splendid  success.  But 
they  were  mistaken.  Sheridan  drove  them  back,  at  all 
points,  and  scattered  them  from  their  batteries  with  such 
havoc  that  they  left  large  numbers  of  dead  and  wounded 
on  the  field.  Our  own  losses  were  severe  ;  proving  to  all 
engaged,  and  to  the  country  at  large,  that  the  war  wai 
assuming  a  definite  shape  that  could  not  be  misunderstood, 
and  demanding  sacrifices  worthy  of  the  luime  and  destiny 
of  the  Republic. 


LIFE   OF    MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  35 

The  battle  of  Perryville  added  new  lustre  to  the  fame 
of  Sheridan.  He  was  retained  in  active  positions,  and 
marched  with  the  army  through  Kentucky,  to  Nashville, 
Tennessee.  At  this  point,  in  November,  1861,  he  was 
placed  in  command  of  a  division  of  the  army  of  the 
Cumberland. 

On  the  advance  to  Murfreesborough,  Tennessee,  Decem- 
ber 26th,  General  Sheridan  commanded  the  division  of 
the  brave  and  lamented  Major-General  McCook.  It  was 
near  this  point  the  celebrated  battle  of  Stone  river  occur- 
red, in  which  Sheridan  bore  so  distinguished  a  part.  The 
details  of  this  significant  conflict  have  passed  into  history. 
On  the  report  of  it  by  the  Secretary  of  War,  General 
Sheridan  was  nominated  by  President  Lincoln  as  Major- 
General,  and  confirmed  bv  the  Senate. 

When  we  contemplate  the  eminence  which  General 
Sheridan  has  so  soon  reached,  we  are  reminded  of  some 
of  the  striking  incidents  of  his  early  history.  The  per- 
sonal inspiration  which  seems  to  spring  from  his  presence 
on  the  field  of  battle,  may  be  naturally  traced  back  to  the 
belligerency  of  his  youth.  A  graphic  sketch  of  him  in 
Harpers*  Monthly  for  August,  1865,  describes  him  as  born 
a  belligerent.  He  is  of  the  same  stock  of  ancestry  from 
whom  have  descended  the  Andrew  Jacksons  and  Andrew 
Johnsons  of  our  own  times.  At  West  Point,  he  is  accu- 
rately described  as  "the  best-natured  and  most  bellige- 
rent" cadet  in  the  academy.  It  is  stated  on  good  authority 
that  one  of  his  instructors,  in  order  to  secure  his  gradua- 
tion, employed  the  argument  that  a  belligerent  tempera- 
ment was  not  a  fault  in  a  soldier  !  And  this  is  said  to 
have  secured  the  young  fighter  the  needed  approval  of 
the  West  Point  board  of  instructors.  Gentlemen  who 
were  themselves,  educated  as  soldiers,  could  not  refuse 
graduating  honors  to  a  worthy  youth  on  the  ground  of  his 

belligerency. 
2 


8G  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

The  first  captaincy  of  Sheridan  was  in  the  regiment 
then  commanded  by  General  Sherman.  This  regiment 
was  stationed  in  1861  at  Jefiferson  Barracks,  Missouri,  to 
which  point  Sheridan  w^as  ordered.  He  was  thus  intro- 
duced to  the  army  of  the  trans-Mississippi,  or  of  the 
Southwest,  and  first  saw  active  service  in  the  Union  war 
under  its  colors.  This  army  had  gone  through  a  campaign 
under  the  brilliant  and  lamented  General  Lyon  ;  had  made 
preparations  for  another  under  General  Fremont ;  and  at 
the  time  of  the  arrival  of  Sheridan,  was  commanded  by 
General  Halleck.  The  organizing  talents  of  the  young 
captain  were  at  once  called  into  requisition.  He  was  of 
great  service  to  General  Curtis,  w^ho  was  then  in  active 
command  of  the  troops  in  the  field. 

In  the  year  1862,  the  noble  qualities  of  Sheridan  were 
brought  out  by  his  opposition  to  the  then  frequent  practice 
of  "Jay-hawking,"  or  privately  plundering  the  enemy. 
He  deliberately  exposed  himself  to  arrest  and  censure, 
and  submitted  to  be  removed  from  his  command  in  that 
quarter  and  transferred  to  another,  rather  than  sanction  a 
custom  which  every  high-minded  regular  must  condemn. 
General  Halleck  sympathized  with  Sheridan  in  these 
honorable  sentiments,  and*on  his  entrance  to  his  depart- 
ment at  once  made  him  the  chief  quartermaster,  and 
placed  him  in  an  active  position  on  his  stafi". 

The  arrest  of  Sheridan  for  refusing  to  be  a  "  Jay- 
hawker,"  is  deemed  to  be  one  of  the  prominent  turning- 
points  in  his  signal  career.  His  manly  course  in  that 
respect  not  only  transferred  him  to  a  new  and  more  con- 
genial field,  but  it  created  an  impression  respecting  his 
fighting  qualities  among  the  men,  that  his  subsequent 
history  has  abundantly  illustrated. 

His  transfer  from  the  regular  to  the  volunteer  service, 
from  the  infantry  to  the  cavalry  arm,  was  sudden  ;  but  it 
was  the  first  step  in  a  new  path  that  has  proved  to  be  the 


LIFE    OF    MAJOR-GENERAL    SHERIDAN.  37 

Buccessful  one  of  his  military  journey.  Ills  ambition  was 
at  once  inspired  by  his  being  so  rapidly  promoted.  lie 
had  looked  forward  to  being  a  mnjor  of  infantry,  after 
years  of  hard  service  ;  and  now,  at  the  very  advent  of 
his  mission,  he  is  honored  with  the  eagles  as  a  colonel  of 
cavalry.  We  shall  see,  as  we  progress  with  his  wonder- 
fully active  life,  how  well  he  responded  to  this  call  of  the 
inspiration  of  patriotic  ambition.  All  the  best  powers  of 
his  belligerent,  dashing,  adventurous  nature  were  at  once 
called  forth,  and  found  full  play  in  the  achievements  of 
the  Union  horse. 

The  attack  on  Beauregard  at  Corinth,  led  by  Sheridan, 
in  the  spring  of  1862,  was  the  first  movement  on  the 
enemy  in  the  nature  of  a  raid.  It  was  completely  suc- 
cessful. It  at  once  gave  a  new  impulse  to  the  growing 
cavalry  arm.  The  eclat  that  had  clustered* around  the 
southern  cavalry  began  almost  immediately  to  appear  to 
a  disadvantage,  in  comparison  with  the  superior  dash  and 
courage  evinced  by  Sheridan  and  his  compeers.  Morgan, 
Stuart,  and  other  rebel  cavalry  commanders  of  their 
character,  had  attracted  public  attention  by  their  wild 
forays  ;  but  they  had  all  proved  to  be  attacks  on  defence- 
less points,  and  among  a  people  where  they  were  almost 
sure  not  to  be  resisted.  It  was  an  easy  thing  for  these 
chivalric  braves  to  attack  peaceful  villages,  and  the  quiet 
midnight  retreats  of  plantations.  Victory  was  of  course 
always  sure  in  such  cases  ;  but  it  was  equally  sure  to  be 
bloodless  and  inglorious. 

The  assaults  of  Sheridan  on  the  lines  of  the  enemy 
were  of  an  entirely  different  character.  He  went  out 
from  camp  expecting  to  meet  an  armed  foe  ;  to  encounter 
ambuscades  from  wily  horsemen,  mounted  and  ready  for 
battle, — not  to  make  hurried  descents  on  unresisting 
farmers,  and  valorous  dashes  for  plunder  through  the 
bovine  barricades  of  sleeping  cattle,  or  the  lattice-work 


88  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

files  of  fowls,  roosted  en  barbette.  By  his  bold  and 
courageous  course,  at  the  outset  of  his  career,  Sheridan 
did  much  toward  establishing  the  high  character  so 
bravel}^  won  and  so  well  sustained  by  the  Union  cavalry. 

But  the  peculiar  position  of  our  horse,  at  the  opening 
of  the  great  war  for  the  Union,  was  not  confined  to  the 
west.  It  was  admitted  to  be  nearly  the  same  every- 
where. In  a  well-written  volume  by  Surgeon  James 
jVfoore,  U.  S,  A.,  entitled  "  Kilpatrick  and  Our  Caval- 
ry," there  is  a  valuable  collection  of  historical  facts  on 
this  subject.  As  early  in  the  war  as  August,  1862, 
special  efforts  were  made  by  Kilpatrick,  Bayard,  Gregg, 
Pleasanton,  Custer,  Farnsworth,  and  other  cavalry  offi- 
cers, aided  by  General  Hooker,  who  believed  in  cavalry, 
to  re-orgauize,  concentrate,  and  make  more  efficient  this 
now  powerful  arm  of  the  service.  Under  the  impulse  of 
these  well-timed  movements,  the  cavalry  corps  of  the 
armv  of  the  Potomac  was  formed,  and  General  Stonemau 
appointed  its  commander.  The  subsequent  movements 
of  this  force,  under  Kilpatrick,  Pleasanton,  Gregg,  Bayard, 
and  others,  have  attracted  well-deserved  attention,  and 
covered  the  eastern  cavalry  with  honor.  The  victory  of 
Kilpatrick  over  Stuart,  at  Hanover,  Pennsylvania,  again 
on  the  mountains  of  Monterey,  and  the  noble  cavalry 
achievements  on  the  bloody  and  glorious  field  of  Gettys- 
burg, will  ever  be  kept  in  grateful  remembrance  by  our 
patriotic  countrymen.  Nor  will  they  ever  forget  the  work 
done  by  the  cavalry  under  General  Sherman,  nor  the 
names  of  the  brave  commanders  who  led  them  through 
those  fields  of  glory — from  Yicksburg  to  Chattanooga,  from 
Chattanooga  to  Atlanta,  from  Atlanta  to  Savannah,  from 
Savannah  to  Charleston  from  Charleston  to  Richmond. 


LIFE   OF  MAJOR-GENEEAL   SHERIDAN.  39 


CHAPTER  lY. 

WESTERN   BATTLES. 

The  determined  character  of  Sheridan  was  earlv  mani- 
fested  at  the  head  of  his  troops.  Accustomed  to  obey 
superior  orders  himself,  he  was  determined  to  enforce 
similar  obedience  on  those  he  commanded. 

While  in  camp  at  Bridgeport,  Alabama,  in  1863,  Gen- 
eral George  H.  Thomas  accompanied  him  in  an  official 
examination  of  his  works  at  that  place.  "  At  one  of  the 
way  stations,"  says  the  writer  of  the  spirited  sketch  of 
Sheridan  in  Harper^s  3Ionthly,  "  the  train  halted  for  an 
unusually  long  time,  and  Sheridan,  on  asking  the  conduc- 
tor, a  great  burly  six-footer,  the  reason,  met  with  a  some- 
what gruff  reply.  Sheridan  contented  himself  with  re- 
proving his  manner,  and  ordered  him  to  proceed  with 
the  train.  The  conductor  did  not  reply,  and  failed  to 
obey.  After  waiting  some  time  longer,  Sheridan  sent  for 
the  conductor,  and  demanded  to  know  why  he  had  not 
obeyed.  The  conductor  answered  in  a  gruff  manner,  that 
he  received  his  orders  from  the  military  superintendent 
only.  Without  giving  him  time  to  finish  the  insulting  reply 
Sheridan  struck  him  several  rapid  blows,  kicked  him  from 
the  cars  into  the  hands  of  a  guard,  and  then  ordered  the 
train  forward,  acting  as  conductor  on  the  down  and  return 
trip.  After  starting  his  train  he  returned  to  his  seat  by 
the  side  of  General  Thomas,  and,  without  referring  to 
the  subject,  resumed  his  conversation  with  that  dignified 
officer." 

These  are  some  of  the  characteristics  of  the  man  whose 
career  we  are  truthfully  depicting  in  these  pages.  Small 
in  stature — so  small  that  his  men  have  been  accustomed 


40  LIFE   OF    MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

to  call  him  "  Little  Phil." — he  possesses  much  physical 
energy,  and  all  the  other  qualities  of  a  first-class  fighting 
general.  Mounted,  sword  in  hand,  in  the  charge  and 
smoke  of  battle,  his  stature  is  forgotten  ;  and  you  can  see 
only  the  dashing  cavalryman,  who,  every  inch  a  soldier, 
and  all  his  inches  gathered  up  and  fixed  together  with 
their  utmost  power,  is  determined  to  know  nothing  but 
his  country  and  victory. 

The  devotion  of  General  Sheridan  to  his  cavalry  is 
extraordinary.  He  has  on  several  occasions  been  placed 
in  command  of  portions  of  the  army  composed  exclusively 
of  infantry,  and  he  has  always  handled  them  well.  But 
he  has  frequently  asserted  that,  while  he  does  not  dispar- 
age in  the  least  any  other  arm,  cavalry  is  his  forte. 

At  the  battle  of  Dandridge,  Tennessee,  in  January  1864, 
a  characteristic  incident  occurred,  that  illustrates  this 
peculiarity.  Colonel  (now  General)  Jordan  was  in  com- 
mand of  a  division  of  cavalry.  The  enemy  was  advan- 
cing from  a  thick  undergrowth,  with  a  large  body  of  infan- 
try and  artillery.  The  shells  were  flying  thick  and  fast, 
and  the  battle  had  begun  to  rage  with  considerable  vigor. 
Jordan,  after  having  driven  the  enemy,  had  drawn  up  a 
body  of  his  troopers  around  him,  on  a  commanding  hill, 
prepared  for  another  charge  at  the  appropriate  moment. 

He  did  not  have  to  wait  long.  Just  as  he  was  prepa- 
ring for  a  dash  forward,  and  his  bugles  were  about 
swelling  their  brazen  throats  with  "  Charge  !"  Sheridan 
rode  rapidly  up  the  brow  of  the  hill. 

"  How  is  this,  Colonel  Jordan  ?"  he  inquired.  "  Where 
are  the  enemy  ?" 

"  Close  at  hand,  General  Sheridan,"  promptly  replied 
Jordan. 

"  But  I  do  not  hear  any  bullets  !"  continued  Sheridan, 
checking  his  horse,  who  appeared  to  be,  like  his  master, 
impatient  of  delay. 


LIFE    OF    MAJOR-GENERAL    SHERIDAN'.  41 

He  had  hardly  ceased  speaking  when  the  long;  h"nes  of 
the  enemy  swept  across  the  intervening  space,  and  the 
loud-mouthed  trumpets  sounded  the  charge.  In  an  in- 
stant the  whole  body  of  troopers  dashed  impetuously 
forward,  Sheridan  himself  in  the  very  front.  The  rebels 
met  with  such  a  shock  as  they  advanced  that  they  reeled 
and  staggered  back  in  broken  squadrons  all  over  the 
field.  They  w^ere  completely  demoralized.  A  captured 
rebel  officer  afterwards  expressed  it,  when  asked 

"  "What  else  could  you  expect  ?" 

"  We  didn't  expect  to  be  rode  over  in  that  way  I" 

As  the  charge  sounded  over  the  roar  of  battle,  and  the 
troopers  dashed  on  after  the  enemy,  the  enthusiasm  knew 
no  bounds.  Sweeping,  like  a  man  on  a  winged  steed,  to 
the  front,  Sheridan  shouted  :  **  Come  on  1  boys,  come  on  1 
now's  the  day,  and  now's  the  hour  !" 

The  voice  was  a  strange  one  to  Jordan's  men  ;  but  they 
felt  there  was  the  right  ring  in  it ;  they  saw  Jordan  him- 
self by  the  side  of  Sheridan,  dashing  with  him  into  the 
thickest  of  the  fight ;  and  not  a  man  of  them  stopped  in 
his  onward  and  upward  career,  until  the  gorge  and  adja- 
cent hill-side  w^ere  completely  cleared  of  the  enemy. 

As  they  paused  a  moment,  being  aware  of  the  proximity 
of  a  still  larger  rebel  force,  Sheridan  reined  in  his  fiery 
steed,  who,  with  curved  neck,  and  foaming  mouth,  champ- 
ing teeth,  and  pawing  feet,  had  become,  like  his  rider,  the 
impersonation  of  battle,  and  turning  toward  Jordan,  he 
exclaimed : 

"  Bless  my  soul !  I  thought  I  belonged  again  to  the 
cavalry  !  I  have  forgotten  all  about  my  infantry  !  Excuse 
me,  Colonel  Jordan.     I  must  hurry  back  to  my  command." 

So  saying,  w^ith  a  good-natured  smile  and  a  military 
bow,  he  withdrew.  Bat  the  remembrance  of  his  sudden 
appearance  in  that  charge,  his  quick  response,  uncalled, 
to  the  bugle,  and  his  shout  "  Come  on,  boys  I  come  on  I" 


42  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN". 

will  never  be  forgotten  by  any  one  who  saw  and  heard 
Sheridan  tha.t  memorable  day. 

It  is  such  incidents  of  battle  as  these  that  show  the 
steady  progress  made  by  the  cavalry  of  the  United  States. 
Many  similar  incidents  are  depicted  in  the  career  of  our 
general,  who  has  well  been  called  "Cavalry  Sheridan." 

As  we  look  back  for  only  three  years,  we  can  scarcely 
realize  the  results  attained  by  our  cavalry.  In  the  month 
of  December,  1861,  the  cavalry  arm  was  considered  by 
the  Congressional  Committee  on  the  Conduct  of  the  War, 
as  "  too  expensive"  to  be  continued  at  its  then  rate  of 
numbers.  We  had  at  that  time  an  army  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  men,  of  whom  less  than  fifteen  thousand 
were  cavalry.  It  was  the  written  and  recorded  opinion 
of  our  prominent  generals  of  that  period,  that  even  that 
small  number  was  too  large.  It  was  generally  considered 
that  the  regular  cavalry — embracing,  as  a  whole,  less  than 
five  thousand — would  be  amply  sufiQcient  for  all  army  pur- 
poses. They  would  be  fully  competent  to  act  as  advanced 
and  rear  guards,  to  deploy  in  casual  raids  for  necessary 
provisions,  to  serve  as  couriers  for  the  infantry  and  artil- 
lery. To  fight  with  an  army  composed  to  any  great  ex- 
tent of  cavalry  was  never  dreamed  of  for  a  moment. 

What  a  change  has  been  wrought  in  our  estimation  of 
cavalry  within  the  short  compass  of  three  years  !  The  re- 
port of  tbo  f^ecretary  of  War  for  the  year  1862,  states  the 
number  ui  uur  forces  then  in  the  field  to  be  six  hundred 
and  seventy  thousand.  The  several  arms  of  the  service 
were  distributed  as  follows  : 

Volunteers.    Regulars.    Aggregate. 

Infantry 557,208  11,175   568,383 

Cavalry 64,654  4,744     59,398 

Artillery 20,380  4,308     24,688 

Rifles  and  Sharp-shooters 8,325       8,325 

Engineers 107          107 

Total 640,637     20,334  660,971 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SUERIDAN.  43 

From  this  time  forward,  to  the  close  of  the  war,  there 
was  a  steady  increase  of  the  fighting  cavalry  force. 
Where  all  have  done  so  well  comparisons  are  out  of  place  ; 
but  it  is  not  too  much  for  history  to  record  that  some  of 
the  most  powerful  of  the  blows  that  terminated  the  rebel- 
lion were  administered  by  the  Union  cavalry. 

It  is  on  these  accounts  that  the  name  of  Sheridan  has 
acquired  such  brilliancy.  We  are  not  to  consider  him  as 
a  dashing  young  cavalry  officer,  plunging  out  of  camp 
here  and  there  in  some  desperate  and  daring  raid  upon  the 
powerful  and  wily  enemy,  but  as  a  distinguished,  practised, 
skilful  commander  of  cavalry  among  other  cavalry  officers 
of  our  country  who  have  won  high  distinctions  by  their 
chivalric  deeds. 

From  a  little  band  of  a  few  thousands  of  comparatively 
untried  horse,  our  cavalry  had  become,  at  the  close  of  our 
great  national  struggle,  the  most  numerous  and  most 
powerful  body  of  the  kind  among  all  the  armies  of  the 
earth.  The  facts  reported  in  these  pages,  show  how 
much  of  this  great  result  may  be  truly  attributed  to  the 
patriotism,  tact  and  valor  of  Philip  Henry  Sheridan. 


■^  ♦  • » ►■ 


CHAPTER  y. 

CHATTANOOGA. 

In  the  opening  cavalry  career  of  General  Sheridan  at 
the  west,  the  great  feature  of  his  movements  was  energy. 
His  clearly-defined  purpose  was  to  show  how  it  was  to  be 
done,  in  strongly-marked  contrast  with  the  commanders 
who  were  evidently  bent  on  showing  how  not  to  do  it. 
His  opinion,  as  written  by  the  point  of  his  sabre  on  his 


4^  LIFE    OF    MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

newlv-won  stars  was  that  of  Ward,  the  naval  hero,  who 
fell  so  early  at  the  bloody  attack  on  Mathias  Point : 

**  This  is  not  a  mere  political  canvass.  It  is  a  real  war 
— and  somebodv  must  be  hurt." 

Ward  was  cut  down,  in  almost  the  first  battle  that  ho 
fought,  covered  with  honor  in  defending  his  country's 
flag — a  brave  officer,  a  devoted  child  of  the  navy,  and  one 
of  our  most  scientific  naval  commanders.  But  Sheridan, 
equally  brave,  dashing  and  talented,  has  lived  on  to 
achieve  military  greatness,  as  he  has  nobly  aided  to  rid 
his  country  of  her  deadliest  foes.  Among  the  mountain- 
passes  and  plains  of  the  west  his  determined  onsets  on 
the  enemies  of  the  Republic  showed  him,  at  the  very  out- 
set of  his  career,  to  be  terribly  in  earnest. 

A  writer  accompanying  Rosecrans  through  the  dark 
and  stormy  battle-gorges  of  Stone  river,  asserts  that  the 
dashing  gallantry  of  Sheridan  turned  the  tide  of  war  on 
that  occasion.  When  he  drew  out  his  decimated  troops 
from  the  thickest  cedars  of  the  mountains  near  Chicka- 
mauga,  and  brought  them  into  line  before  his  commanding 
general,  his  only  remark  was — 

"  Here  we  are,  general  !  all  that  is  left  of  us  !  Our  guns 
and  our  cartridge-boxes  are  all  empty  !" 

The  rapidity  with  which  he  pursued  the  enemy,  after 
this  desperate  battle,  and  during  the  ensuing  Tullahoma 
campaign,  is  described  by  one  who  was  present  as  parta- 
king of  a  wild  energy  that  carried  every  thing  before  it. 
His  men  were  swept  irresistibly  onward  by  the  impetu- 
osity of  their  leader.  So  rapid  was  the  march,  that  when 
he  reached  the  bridge  at  Bridgeport,  on  the  Tennessee, 
just  in  time  to  prevent  it  from  being  destroyed  by  the 
rebel  incendiaries,  the  enemy  supposed  him  to  be  at  the 
head  of  a  body  of  our  cavalry  ! 

Some   of  the   rear-guard  of  the  retreating  rebel  army 
were  sitting  on  the  bridge  as  Sheridan  dashed  up : 


LIFE    OF   MAJOR-GENERAL    SHERIDAN.  45 

"  Put  out  that  fire  !"  he  shouted  to  his  troops  nearest 
the  smoking  and  blazing  wood-work.  "  We  want  the 
bridge  !     Put  out  the  fire  I" 

"  Who  are  you  ?"  asked  the  rebels,  in  astonishment, 

"  United  States  infantry,  under  Sheridan  I"  replied  the 
soldier  nearest  to  the  questioner. 

"  Hi  I"  continued  the  rebel,  still  more  surprised, 
"  Sheridan's  men  !  We  thought  you  belonged  to  Stan- 
ley's troopers  !" 

It  was  in  the  terrific  assault  of  Chattanooga,  in  ISTovem- 
ber,  1863,  that  the  great  soldierly  qualities  of  Sheridan 
made  one  of  their  earliest  displays.  Here  he  first  drew 
the  attention  of  General  Grant,  on  the  field — a  man  who 
has  proved  himself  to  be  one  of  the  best  judges  of  his  asso- 
ciates of  any  commander  history  has  ever  produced.  The 
assault  and  conquest  of  the  point  at  Chattanooga  called 
Missionary  Ridge,  must  ever  be  regarded  as  one  of  the 
most  brilliant  achievements  of  the  whole  war.  It  stands 
out  by  itself  as  a  mountain  charge  of  terrible  valor. 

The  men  of  Sheridan  had  been  kept  on  the  hill-sides, 
and  at  the  base  of  old  Lookout,  during  an  interval  of  sus- 
pense, embracing  thirty-six  consecutive  hours.  Few  men 
have  ever  had  their  patience  and  endurance  tried  as  were 
theirs  on  that  day.  At  length  the  expected  signal  came. 
The  booming  cannon  sounded  from  the  headquarters  of 
Grant.  How  quickly  the  troopers  under  Sheridan  sprang 
forward  I  They  did  not  wait  for  the  flash  of  the  second  gun, 
but  dashed  up  the  steep  mountain  sides,  as  if  leaping  for- 
Iward  in  play. 

The  cross-fire  of  the  enemy  poured  down  like  a  tide  of 
flame  from  the  ramparts  above  ;  but  still  the  men  of  Sheri- 
dan pressed  up,  up,  up,  toward  the  lofty  summits  of  the 
ridge.  He  was  at  their  head,  waving  his  sword,  and  call- 
ing on  every  man  to  follow  him.  There  was  no  resisting 
his  burning  appeals.     Twenty  rebel  batteries  were  at  that 


46  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

moment  belchinj^  their  fiery  torrents  down  upon  them  ;  but 
up  they  strode,  through  the  openings  of  frowning  cliffs  and 
the  tangled  roots  and  branches  of  the  gorges,  with  charge 
after  charge,  carrying  every  thing  before  them. 

Near  the  highest  peak  his  horse  was  shot  dead  under 
him ;  but  he  sprang  from  the  petted  animal,  and,  drawn 
sword  in  hand,  continued  the  fight  on  foot.  He  was 
among  the  first  of  the  victors  who  reached  the  conquered 
parapets  ;  and  as  he  mounted  them,  and  swung  his  sword 
in  triumph,  his  own  cheers  mingled  with  those  of  his 
heroic  men  as  they  rang  aloud  in  the  upper  air,  and  swept 
down  the  mountain  to  the  plains  below. 

The  warm  praises  of  General  Grant  were  freely  given 
to  Sheridan  for  this  noble  deed.  It  has  been  deemed  the 
turning  point  in  his  upward  career,  as  establishing  his 
capacity  as  a  leader  of  men  beyond  all  question.  As 
such  it  was  evident  Grant  regarded  him  that  day ;  and 
events  have  proved  that  he  has  held  him  in  equally  high 
estimation  ever  since. 

It  was  not  long  after  the  glorious  feat  of  Chattanooga 
that  Sheridan  was  placed  in  command  of  all  the  cavalry, 
under  General  Grant,  in  the  noble  army  of  the  Potomac. 


■^  • » » » 


CHAPTER  YI. 

PERSONAL   SKETCH   OF   GENERAL    SHERIDAN   BY   ONE   OF   HIS 

STAFF. 

We  are  indebted  to  Major  Alfred  R.  Calhoun,  formerly 
of  the  Kentucky  cavalry,  for  the  annexed  sketch  of  General 
Sheridan  : 

"I  first  saw   Sheridan  at  Corinth   Mississippi,  where 


LIFE    OF    MAJOR-GEXERAL   SHERTDAN.  47 

he  was  then  acting  chief  quartermaster,  on  the  staff  of 
General  Halleck.  There  was  certainly  nothing  in  the 
physique  of  the  man  to  denote  the  spirit  within  which 
was  designed  to  make  him  the  greatest  cavalry  leader 
of  his  age.  He  was  a  mild-looking,  unassuming  man, 
with  a  quiet,  satisfied  air  about  him,  that  gave  him  the 
appearance  of  any  thing  but  an  aspiring  man.  But 
under  that  lamb-like  exterior  there  was  hidden  the  lion's 
spirit,  and  the  dark  gray  eye  which  beamed  so  kindly 
when  at  ease,  would  often,  to  the  astonishment  of  those 
he  was  brought  in  contact  with,  turn  like  a  living  coal, 
and  his  smooth  tongue  would  grow  harsh  with  vehement 
interjections,  that  showed  Sheridan  had  reduced  invectives 
to  a  fine  art.  No  man  would  willingly  wish  to  rouse  the 
little  quartermaster's  anger. 

"  During  the  siege  of  Corinth,  an  incident  occurred  which 
served  to  illustrate  this  combative  disposition,  while  at 
the  same  time  it  showed  a  thorough  kindliness  of  heart. 
A  train  laden  with  supplies  was  pushing  up  from  Pitts- 
burg Landing  to  the  front ;  the  road  was  very  rough,  and 
the  warm  sun  and  heavy  loads  so  fatigued  the  animals 
that  a  lead  mule  of  one  train  fell  down  exhausted.  The 
heartless  driver  descended  from  his  seat  and  beat  the  poor 
dying  animal  cruelly,  using  the  most  fearful  oaths.  Sheri- 
dan came  up,  and  seeing  the  state  of  affairs,  called  out  to 
the  driver  to  desist.  The  latter  looked  up,  and  seeing 
the  unassuming  man  who  ordered  him,  in  a  fierce  tone 
yelled  back: 

"  '  Stand  back !  or  I  will  wallop  you  worse  than  the 
mule.' 

"  That  was  enough.  Quick  as  the  bound  of  a  tiger, 
Sheridan  was  off  his  horse,  and  with  a  ringing  blow  he 
felled  the  burly  driver ;  then  taking  the  whip  used  to 
beat  the  mule,  he  gave  the  crestfallen  Jehu  a  castigation 
he  will  remember  while  he  lives. 


48  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

"  Mj  first  experience  in  raiding  was  under  Colonel 
Elliott,  who  commanded  a  brigade  in  which  Sheridan  had 
charge  of  the  second  Michigan  cavalry.  We  started  to 
go  round  Corinth  and  sever  the  railroad  leading  south 
from  Corinth.  We  met  a  large  body  of  rebel  cavalry 
near  Boonesville,  among  them  "Wharton's  Texas  Rangers. 
Hitherto  the  rebels  had  laughed  at  our  horsemen  and 
cavalry  leaders ;  but  they  felt  a  blow  there  which  stag- 
gered them,  and  which,  repeated  at  another  point  by  the 
same  hand,  wound  up  the  rebellion. 

"  During  the  fight,  the  second  Michigan,  which  was 
fighting  dismounted,  was  very  much  annoyed  by  a 
howitzer  battery  stationed  near  a  piece  of  woods,  and 
supported  by  the  famous  eighth  Texas,  on  their  fiery 
mustangs.  It  chafed  the  spirit  of  the  little  colonel,  who 
was  dashing  backward  and  forward,  his  face  beaming  with 
the  wild  anger  of  battle,  and  a  perfect  deluge  of  oaths 
going  out  against  the  enemy^ 

"At  length  the  order  was  given  to  fall  back.  The 
bugle  pounded,  'Boots  and  saddles!'  and  the  second 
Michigan  were  mounted.  The  line  was  formed,  and  all 
sat  ready  for  the  next  move. 

"  '  Forward  !'  came  the  order,  and  at  a  trot  thev  moved 
on,  Sheridan  galloping  along  the  line,  as  if  to  let  out  his 
anger  and  nervous  energy. 

"  At  last  the  bugle  sounded,  '  Draw  sabres  ! — Charge  !' 
Then  Sheridan  became  the  personification  of  every  thing 
soldierly.  Gazing  on  the  long  line  of  gleaming  swords, 
his  own  leaped  from  its  scabbard,  and  spurring  his  horse 
full  fifty  yards  in  advance  of  the  line,  sent  up  a  yell  which 
thrilled  his  men ;  and,  in  the  face  of  a  fearful  fire,  they 
swept  over  the  battery  and  cut  down  the  gunners,  then 
into  the  midst  of  the  eighth  Texas. 

"  Not  a  shot  was  fired,  but  sabres  rose  and  fell  with 
orimson  flashes ;  and  where  the  fray  was  thickest,  there 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GEXERAL   SITEEIDAX.  49 

Sheridan  struck,  yellinj^  out  all  the  time,  'Down  with  the 
black  fiends  !  Pour  it  into  them,  my  boys  !  Push  them 
down  !     God  curse  them  I     Crush  them  down  !' 

"  And  Sheridan's  boys  did  ;  for  the  defeated  prairie 
riders  scattered  in  every  direction. 

"  As  they  were  fleeing  Sheridan  singled  out  a  powerful 
rider,  who  had  shown  us  a  bold  front  and  started  in  pur- 
suit. The  Texan,  seeing  he  could  not  escape,  turned  sud- 
denly and  fired  at  the  advancing  Yankee  ;  then  closed  for 
a  struggle.  But  it  was  momentary  ;  by  a  dexterous  move- 
ment Sheridan  brought  bis  horse  to  the  left  of  his  antago- 
nist, his  sword  flashed  for  an  instant  and  the  next  the 
rebel  fell,  covered  with  blood  and  brains — while  Sheridan, 
leading  a  horse,  galloped  back,  'mid  the  hurrahs  of  the 
command.  ' 

"  Sheridan,  were  it  not  for  his  unvarying  good  luck, 
would  be  called  the  most  reckless  of  men.  He  exposes 
himself  without  apparent  necessity  ;  but  the  boys  like  it 
— and  his  presence  under  fire  is  always  sure  to  create  the 
greatest  enthusiasm  amongst  the  men. 

"  At  Perryville,  where  Sheridan  commanded  a  division 
of  infantry,  we  were  very  warmly  pressed  by  the  enemy 
under  Bragg,  who  outnumbered  us  two  to  one. 

"  It  was  very  warm,  and  our  men  suffered  for  water. 
There  was  a  small  stream  between  the  contending  armies, 
which  could  be  used  by  neither  while  the  present  positions 
were  maintained.  Slowly  the  rebels  pushed  our  whole 
line  back,  gaining  possession  of  the  stream.  The  men  were 
fainting  by  hundreds  under  the  scorching  sun,  and  the 
horses  were  panting  beside  the  blistering  guns. 

"  '  I  can't  stand  this  !'  cried  Sheridan. 

"An  aid  galloped  off  with  a  message,  and  soon  returned, 
when  Sheridan  became  himself  again,  for  he  was  ordered 
to  advance,  which  they  did  with  a  cheer  which  sent  the 
enemy  flying  before  a  bayonet  was  used  ;  but  on  getting 


50  LIFE   OF   irAJOR-GEXERAL   SHERIDAN. 

to  the  stream  it  was  found  muddy  and  blood}^  Jumping 
from  his  horse  Sheridan  scooped  out  a  hole  with  his  sword 
and  took  a  long  drink.  Then  looking  around  with  a 
whimsical  expression,  he  addressed  an  aid : 

"  '  Captain  C,  I  feel  very  mean  ;  I  believe  I  have  a  little 
rebel  blood  in  me  !' 

"  Sheridan's  influence  on  his  men  was  never  more  thor- 
oughly tried  than  at  Stone  River.  Kosecrans  used  to 
call  him  his  '  Little  Napoleon,'  and  in  that  terrific- fight 
he  proved  himself  so  to  be.  The  nature  of  the  ground 
was  such  that  every  soldier  seemed  to  fight  on  his  own 
responsibility.  Owing  to  the  sudden  attack  on  McCook, 
Sheridan's  division  was  subjected  to  a  terrible  cross  fire 
from  an  overwhelming  force  of  the  enemy.  It  was  forced 
into  a  small  forest  of  stunted  cedars,  and  nearly  one  half 
of  the  command  had  fallen,  but  the  fate  of  the  army  of 
the  Cumberland  depended  on  Sheridan's  holding  his 
ground,  and  well  he  did  it.  His  horse  was  killed  ;  but 
on  foot  he  ran  from  point  to  point  till  remounted,  encour- 
aging his  men,  swearing  at  stragglers,  and  calling  down 
vengeance  on  '  the  rebel  hounds.' 

"  *  Had  Sheridan  been  omnipotent  then,'  I  heard  an 
officer  since  say,  '  there  would  be  very  few  rebels  left  to 
take  the  oath  of  allegiance  !' 

*'  By  his  gallantry  on  that  field  of  carnage  Sheridan  won 
the  respect  of  every  officer,  and  he  became  the  pet  of 
every  private,  who  never  grew  tired  cheering  '  Little 
Phil.' 

"  Perhaps  Sheridan's  reckless  daring  shone  more  con- 
spicuously at  Missionary  Ridge  than  in  any  other  battle  of 
the  war." 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR- PtEXERAL   SHERIDAN.  51 


CHAPTER  YII. 

SHERIDAN   IN   TENNESSEE. 

The  Union  victories  in  Tennessee  were  among  the  first 
events  of  the  war  to  give  an  early  prominence  to  Gen- 
eral Sheridan.  It  was  at  this  time,  in  the  fall  of  1863, 
that  he  first  attracted  tne  favorable  notice  of  General 
Grant. 

Our  great  victory  in  the  battle,  near  Chattanooga,  is 
thus  officially  described  by  one  of  the  most  efficient  officers 
of  the  United  States  army  : 

"  Headquarters,  Chattanooga,  Nov.  26,  1863. 
"  Hon.  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  War  : 

"  Sir  : — On  the  23d  instant,  at  11-^  a.m. ,  General  Grant 
ordered  a  demonstration  against  Missionary  Ridge,  to  de- 
velop the  force  holding  it.  The  troops  marched  out, 
formed  in  order,  and  advanced  in  line  of  battle,  as  if  on 
a  parade.  The  rebels  watched  the  formation  and  move- 
ment from  their  picket  lines  and  rifle-pits,  and  from  the 
summits  of  Missionary  Ridge,  five  hundred  feet  above  us, 
and  thought  it  was  a  review  and  drill,  so  openly  and 
deliberately,  so  regular,  was  it  all  done. 

"  The  line  advanced,  preceded  by  skirmishers,  and  at  two 
o'clock  P.M.  reached  our  picket  lines  and  opened  a  rattling 
volley  upon  the  rebel  pickets,  who  replied  and  ran  into 
their  advanced  line  of  rifle-pits.  After  them  went  our 
skirmishers  and  into  them,  along  the  centre  of  the  line  of 
twenty-five  thousand  troops  which  General  Thomas  had 
so  quickly  displayed,  until  we  opened  fire.  Prisoners 
assert  that  they  thought  the  whole  movement  was  a  re- 
view and  general  drill,  and  that  it  was  too  late  to  send 
to  their  camps  for  reinforcements,  and  that  they  were 
overwhelmed  by  force  of  numbers.  It  was  a  surprise  in 
open  daylight. 

"At  three,  p.m.,  the  important  advanced   position  of 
Orchard  Knob  and  the  lines  right  and  left  were  in  our  pos- 
session, and  arrangements  were  ordered  for  holding  them 
3 


52  LIFE   OF    MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

during  the  night  The  next  day,  at  daylight,  General 
Thomas  had  five  thousand  men  across  the  Tennessee,  and 
established  on  its  south  bank,  and  commenced  the  construc- 
tion of  a  pontoon  bridge  about  six  miles  above  Chattanooga. 
The  rebel  steamer  Dunhar  was  repaired  at  the  right  mo- 
ment, and  rendered  effective  aid  in  this  crossing,  carrying 
over  six  thousand  men.  By  nightfall,  General  Thomas 
had  seized  the  extremity  of  Missionary  Ridge  nearest 
tlie  river,  and  was  intrenching  himself.  General  Howard, 
with  a  brigade,  opened  communication  with  him  from 
Chattanooga,  on  the  south  side  of  the  river.  Skirmishing 
and  cannonading  continued  all  day  on  the  left  and  centre. 
General  Hooker  scaled  the  slopes  of  Lookout  Mountain, 
and  from  the  valley  of  Lookout  creek  drove  the  rebels 
around  the  point.  He  captured  some  two  thousand  pris- 
oners, and  established  himself  high  up  on  the  mountain 
side,  in  full  view  of  Chattanooga.  This  raised  the  blockade, 
and  now  steamers  were  ordered  from  Bridgeport  to  Chat- 
tanooga. They  had  i*un  only  to  Kelly's  Ferry,  whence 
ten  miles  of  hauling  over  mountain  roads  and  twice  across 
the  Tennessee  on  pontoon  bridges  brought  us  our  sup- 
plies. 

"All  night  the  point  of  Missionary  Ridge  on  the  ex- 
treme left  and  the  side  of  Lookout  Mountain,  on  the 
extreme  right,  blazed  with  the  camp-fires  of  loyal  troops. 
The  day  had  been  one  of  dense  mists  and  rains,  and  much 
of  General  Hooker's  battle  was  fought  above  the  clouds, 
which  concealed  him  from  our  view,  but  from  which  his 
musketry  was  heard.  At  nightfall  the  sky  cleared  and 
the  full  moon,  'the  traitor's  doom,'  shone  upon  the 
beautiful  scene,  until  1  a.m.,  when  twinkling  sparks  upon 
the  mountain  side  showed  that  picket  skirmishing  was 
going  on.  Then  it  ceased.  A  brigade,  sent  from  Chat- 
tanooga, crossed  the  Chattanooga  creek  and  opened  com- 
munication with  Hooker.  General  Grant's  headquarters 
during  the  afternoon  of  the  23d  and  the  day  of  the 
24th,  were  in  Wood's  redoubt ;  except  when,  in  the 
course  of  the  day,  he  rode  along  the  advanced  line,  visit- 
ing the  headquarters  of  the  several  commanders,  in 
Chattanooga  valley. 

"At  daylight  on  the  2oth  the  stars  and  stripes  were 
descried  on  the  peak  of  Lookout.     Tlie  rebels  had  evac- 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  53 

uated  the  mountain.  Hooker  moved  to  descend  the  moun- 
tain, and  striking  Missionary  Ridge  at  the  Rossville  Gup, 
to  sweep  on  both  sides  and  on  its  summit. 

"  The  rebel  troops  were  seen  as  soon  as  it  was  light 
enough,  streaming  regiments  and  brigades  along  the  nar- 
row summit  of  Missionary  Ridge,  either  concentrating  ou 
the  right  to  overwhelm  Sherman,  or  marching  for  the  rail- 
road, and  raising  the  siege.  They  had  evacuated  the 
valley  of  Chattanooga — would  they  abandon  that  of 
Chickamauga  ? 

"  The  twenty-pounders  and  four  and  a  quarter-inch 
rifles  of  Wood's  redoubt  opened  on  Missionary  Ridge. 
Orchard  Knob  sent  its  compliments  to  the  ridge,  which, 
with  rifled  Parrotts  answered,  and  the  cannonade  thus 
commenced  continued  all  day.  Shot  and  shell  screamed 
from  Orchard  Knob  to  Missionary  Ridge,  and  from  Mis- 
sionary Ridge  to  Orchard  Knob,  and  from  Wood's  redoubt 
over  the  heads  of  Generals  Grant  and  Thomas  and  their 
staffs,  who  were  with  us  in  this  favorable  position,  from 
whence  the  wdiole  battle  could  be  seen  as  in  an  amphi- 
theatre.    The  headquarters  were  under  fire  all  day  long. 

"Cannonading  and  musketry  were  heard  from  General 
Sherman,  and  General  Howard  marched  the  eleventh 
corps  to  join  him.  General  Thomas  ^ent  out  skirmishers, 
who  drove  in  the  rebel  pickets,  and  chased  them  into  their 
intrenchments,  and  at  the  foot  of  Missionary  Ridge,  Sher- 
man made  an  assault  against  Bragg's  right,  intrenched  on  a 
hio'h  knob  next  to  that,  on  which  Sherman  himself  lav 
fortified.  The  assault  was  gallantly  made.  Sherman 
reached  the  edge  of  the  crest,  and  held  his  ground  for  (it 
seemed  to  me)  an  hour,  but  was  bloodily  repulsed  by 
reserves. 

"A  general  advance  was  ordered,  and  a  strong  line  of 
skirmishers,  followed  by  a  deploy  line  of  battle,  some  two 
miles  in  length.  At  the  signal  of  leaden  shots  from  the 
headquarters  on  Orchard  Knob,  the  line  moved  rapidly 
and  orderly  forward.  The  rebel  pickets  discharged  their 
muskets  and  ran  into  their  rifle-pits.  Our  skirmishers 
followed  on  their  heels.  The  line  of  battle  was  not  far 
behind,  and  we  saw  the  grey  rebels  swarm  out  of  the 
ledge  line  of  rifle-pits,  in  numbers  which  surprised  us,  and 
over  the  base  of  the  hill.     A  few  turned  and  fired  their 


54  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENEEAL   SHERIDAN. 

pieces,  but  the  greater  number  collected  into  the  many- 
roads  which  cross  obliquely  up  its  steep  face,  and  went 
on  to  their  top.  Some  regiments  pressed  on  and  swarmed 
up  the  steep  sides  of  the  ridge,  and  here  and  there  a  color 
was  advanced  beyond  the  lines.  The  attempt  appeared 
most  dangerous,  but  the  advance  was  supported,  and  the 
whole  line  was  ordered  to  storm  the  heights,  upon  which 
not  less  than  forty  pieces  of  artillery,  and  no  one  knew 
how  many  muskets,  stood  ready  to  slaughter  the  assail- 
ants. With  cheers  answering  to  cheers,  the  men  swarmed 
upwards.  They  gathered  to  the  point  least  difficult  of 
ascent,  and  the  line  was  broken.  Color  after  color  was 
planted  on  the  summit,  while  musket  and  cannon  vomited 
their  thunder  upon  them.  A  well-directed  shot  from 
Orchard  Knob  exploded  a  rebel  caisson  on  the  summit, 
and  the  gun  was  seen  galloping  to  the  right,  i^s  driver 
lashing  his  horses.  A  party  of  our  soldiers  in  ercepted 
them,  and  the  gun  was  captured  with  cheer??. 

"A  fierce  musketry  fight  broke  out  to  the  left,  where, 
between  Thomas  and  Sherman,  a  mile  or  two  of  the  ridge 
was  still  occupied  by  the  rebels.  Bragg  left  the  house  in 
which  he  had  held  his  headquarters,  and  rode  to  the  rear 
as  our  troops  crowded  the  hill  on  either  side  of  him. 
General  Grant  proceeded  to  the  summit,  and  then  did  we 
only  know  its  height.  Some  of  the  captured  artillery  was 
put  into  position.  Artillerists  were  sent  for  to  work  the 
guns.  Caissons  were  searched  for  ammunition.  The 
rebel  log  breastworks  were  torn  to  pieces  and  carried  to 
the  other  side  of  the  ridge,  and  used  in  forming  barricades 
across.  A  strong  line  of  infantry  w^as  formed  in  the  rear 
of  Baird's  line,  hotly  engaged  in  a  musketry  contest  with 
the  rebels  to  the  left,  and  a  secure  lodgment  was  soon 
effected.  The  other  assault  to  the  right  of  our  centre 
gained  the  summit,  and  the  rebels  threw  down  their 
arms  and  fled.  Hooker  coming  in  favorable  position, 
swept  the  right  of  the  ridge  and  captured  many  pris- 
oners. 

"  Bragg's  remaining  troops  left  early  in  the  night,  and 
the  battle  of  Chattanooga,  after  days  of  manoeuvring  and 
fighting,  was  won.  The  strength  of  the  rebellion  in  the 
centre  is  broken.  Burnside  is  relieved  from  danger  la 
East  Tennessee,  Kentucky  and   Tennessee  are  rescued. 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  55 

Georc^ia  and  the  southeast  are  threatened  in  the  rear,  and 
another  victory  is  added  to  the  chapter  of  '  Unconditional 
Surrender  Grant.' 

"  To-night  the  estimate  of  captures  is  several  thousands 
of  prisoners  and  thirty  pieces  of  artillery.  Our  loss  for  so 
great  a  victory  is  not  severe. 

"Braii-ff  is  firino;  the  railroad  as  he  retreats  towards 
Dalton.     Sliermau  is  in  hot  pursuit. 

"  To-day  I  view  the  battle-field,  which  extends  for  six 
miles  along  Missionary  Ridge  and  for  several  miles  on 
Lookout  Mountain.  Probably  not  so  well-directed,  so 
well-ordered  a  battle  has  been  delivered  during  the  war. 
But  one  assault  was  repulsed — but  that  assault  by  calling 
to  that  point  the  rebel  reserves,  prevented  them  repulsing 
any  of  the  others. 

"A  few  days  since  Bragg  sent  to  General  Grant  a  flag 
of  truce,  advising  him  that  it  would  be  prudent  to  remove 
non-combatants  who  might  be  still  in  Chattanooga.  No 
reply  has  been  returned,  but  the  combatants  having  re- 
moved from  this  vicinity,  it  is  probable  that  non-comba- 
tants can  remain  without  imprudence. 

"  M.  C.  Meigs,  Quartermaster-General.^^ 

We  insert  this  report  entire,  because  it  is  so  interesting 
and  does  full  justice  to  all  the  brave  officers  and  troops 
engaged,  among  whom  history  now  abundantly  attests 
that  General  Sheridan  was  one. 

From  the  winter  of  1863  to  the  spring  of  1864,  no 
general  movement  of  Union  troops  took  place  in  the 
department  with  which  General  Sheridan  was  then  con- 
nected. The  advance  of  General  Schofield  against  Long- 
street,  of  General  Thomas  against  Johnston,  and  of 
Generals  Sherman,  Smith,  and  Grierson  to  the  south  of 
their  respective  positions,  were  clear  indications  of  a  more 
active  field  in  that  department.  By  his  skilful  dispo- 
sitions of  his  immensely  increased  force,  Lieuten ant- 
General  Grant  was  proving  himself  then,  as  subsequent 
events  have  so  gloriously  established  him,  master  of  the 


6Q  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAX. 

situation.  The  fulness  of  time  for  General  Sheridan  was 
steadily  approaching. 

In  March,  1864,  rumors  loegan  to  be  afloat  of  a  rebel 
raid  into  Kentucky.  General  Sheridan  was  exactly  the 
man  to  oppose  such,  a  force.  The  rebel  chiefs  boastingly 
announced  that  they  would  ransack  the  country  through 
its  whole  extent,  sweeping  every  thing  of  value  from  the 
State,  and  leaving  a  waste  behind.  To  accomplish  this 
fell  purpose  the  rebel  force  stationed  at  Bull  Gap  was  fixed 
at  twenty  thousand  strong.  In  the  engagements  which 
followed,  the  enemy  were  handsomely  met  by  our  troops  ; 
and  their  vaunted  schemes  of  plunder  and  rapine,  if  not 
entirely  thwarted,  were  materially  checked. 

The  attention  of  the  country  was  now  mainly  directed 
to  the  central  field  of  the  war  in  Yirginia,  The  continual 
increase  of  our  force  in  that  direction  was  ominous  of  the 
settled  purpose  of  Lieutenant-General  Grant.  After  a  large 
augmentation  of  the  cavalry  command,  and  an  improve- 
ment of  its  personnel,  in  various  ways,  it  was  placed 
under  the  supreme  control  of  General  Sheridan.  This 
was  his  first  great  opportunity.  Victory  records  how 
well  he  fulfilled  it. 


<  ♦  > »  > 


CHAPTER   YIII. 

GENERAL   SHERIDAN  IN   VIRGINIA. 

The  month  of  April,  18G4,  found  the  busy  note  of 
preparation  sounding  louder  than  ever.  A  new  era  was 
opening  on  the  old  army  of  the  Potomac.  The  personal 
staff  of  the  Lieutenant-General  was  materially  changed. 
All  extra  baggage  was  sent  to  the  rear.  The  booths  of 
the  sutlers  were  summarily  closed.    Detailed  troops  began 


LIFE   OF    MAJOR-GENERAL   SUERIDAN.  5? 

to  return  in  large  numbers,  and  furloughs  became  less 
frequent.     The  time  for  action  was  at  hand. 

The  first  available  line  of  advance  for  the  enemy  against 
Washington  was  by  the  old  route  of  the  valley  of  the 
Shenandoah.  Our  own  defensive  line  was  by  the  Orange 
and  Alexandria  railroad.  These  secured  and  held,  and 
the  capital  of  the  nation  was  effectually  defended.  It 
was  of  the  greatest  importance,  therefore,  that  the  passes 
of  the  Shenandoah  should  be  well  guarded,  and  an  army 
move  by  way  of  the  Virginia  Central  railroad,  from 
Aquia  creek,  or  "West  Point,  or  Harrison's  Landing,  or 
along  the  south  side  of  the  James  river. 

In  the  completion  of  this  concentrated  movement  of 
Lieutenant-General  Grant,  General  Sheridan  bore  a  con- 
spicuous part.  The  record  of  the  seven  days  of  fighting, 
in  the  first  part  of  May,  1864,  has  passed  into  history. 
From  the  fords  of  the  Rapidan  to  the  wastes  of  Stafford, 
from  the  forests  of  Spottsylvania  to  the  passages  of  the 
Po ;  in  short,  from  Culpepper  to  Petersburg,  the  whole 
field  is  covered  with  the  glory  of  the  Union  arms.  The 
victories  of  Sheridan  were  of  the  same  class,  although 
won  on  adjacent  fields. 

In  the  campaign  in  Virginia,  General  Sheridan's  first 
service  was  to  establish  crossings,  during  the  night  of 
May  3d,  at  Germania  and  Ely's  fords  for  the  rest  of  the 
army,  which  he  accomplished  with  General  Wilson's 
third  division  at  the  former  point,  and  General  Gregg's 
second  division  at  the  latter,  General  Torbert's  first  di- 
vision being  for  a  time  in  the  rear.  Crossing  on  Wednes- 
day, the  4th,  the  usual  work  of  reconnoissance  was  care- 
fully performed,  Gregg's  division  scouring  the  roads  in 
the  vicinity  of  Ely's  and  westerly  towards  Fredericksburg, 
and  Wilson's  division  doing  the  same  service  southerly 
and  westerly  around  Germania.  On  Thursday,  the  5th, 
the  army  advanced,  in  accordance  with  Grant's  original  plan 


68  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

of  the  campaign.  It  will  be  remembered  that  our  right 
flank  and  the  enemy's  left  rested  on  the  Rapidan,  or  so 
nearly  on  the  river  as  to  be  well  supported  there,  and 
easily  protected  by  artillery.  It  remained  to  cover  our 
left,  as  for  the  enemy  to  cover  his  left,  with  cavalry.  The 
point  of  meeting  was  in  the  vicinity  of  Todd's  Tavern, 
the  location  of  which  has  become  memorable.  The  chief 
interest  of  the  place  was  the  fact  of  the  crossing  of 
the  Brock  and  Pamunkey  roads  at  that  point ;  and  insig- 
nificant in  other  respects,  it  now  became  an  important 
point  to  hold,  either  in  view  of  advance  or  retreat,  like  the 
position  at  Quatre  Bras,  and  Sombreffe. 

On  Thursday,  the  5th,  there  was  severe  skirmishing  in 
this  region  between  the  third  division  and  Fitz  Lee's 
cavalry,  and  our  party  were  rapidly  and  continuously 
driven  back.  Chapman's  brigade  was  chiefly  engaged. 
The  second  division  coming  up  in  support,  the  enemy 
were  in  turn  forced  to  retire,  and  a  part  of  the  lost  ground 
recovered.  Our  loss  was  set  at  about  forty  killed  and 
wounded,  and  as  many  prisoners.  On  Thursday,  also, 
Colonel  Mcintosh's  brigade  of  the  third  division  became 
engaged  in  the  direction  of  Parker's  Store,  suffering  a  loss 
of  about  seventy  men. 

On  Friday,  the  6th,  while  the  great  battle  was  going 
on,  on  the  right,  Stuart  moved  down  and  attacked  our 
cavalrv.  General  Torbert's  first  division, — now  under 
command  of  General  Merritt,  General  Torbert  being  ill, — 
held  the  right,  and  General  Gregg's  second  division  the 
left.  Colonel  Custer's  first  brigade,  first  division,  and 
Colonel  Gregg's  brigade  of  the  second  division,  received 
the  chief  attack,  and  the  enemy  was  at  last  repulsed,  after 
a  long  and  varying  fight.  In  the  afternoon  our  cavalry 
fell  back  towards  Aldrich's  Tavern.  Near  this  point,  on 
Saturday,  another  severe  fight  occurred  with  Stuart,  who 
seemed  determined  to  get  in  our  rear  and  at  our  supply 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  59 

trains,  parked  at  Chancellorsville,  or  at  all  events,  to  clear 
the  roads  for  the  withdrawal  of  Lee's  army  to  Spottsyl- 
vania.  The  fight  was  severe  and  long  continued,  and 
fought,  like  the  preceding  and  other  cavalry  skirmishes 
during  the  week,  in  dense  woods,  the  men  being  dis- 
mounted, and  engaging  with  carbines.  They  were  sup- 
ported also  by  horse  batteries.  We  seem  to  have  gained 
no  advantage,  and  to  have  gradually  removed  our  position 
from  the  region  of  Todd's  Tavern  and  the  road  between 
that  point  and  Parker's  Store,  back  to  Aldrich's,  about 
four  miles  distant.  Aldrich's  is  directly  on  the  road 
between  Fredericksburg  and  Chancellorsville,  and  at  the 
point  where  the  Pamunkey  road  debouches  into  the  other. 
It  was  especially  essential  for  the  cavalry  to  cover  Chan- 
cellorsville and  Fredericksburg  and  the  road  between 
them,  as  well  as  to  protect  our  trains  and  ambulances  at 
both  points. 

The  sudden  departure  of  Lee,  however,  to  his  defences 
on  the  Po,  relieved  our  cavalry  of  most  of  their  duty  in 
guarding  the  rear.  On  Sunday,  the  third  and  first  di- 
visions, following  up  the  retreat  of  Lee,  in  advance  of  our 
infantry,  came  upon  the  enemy's  rear-guard  on  the  Brock 
road,  and  had  a  brisk  skirmish  with  him,  which,  however, 
was  ultimately  taken  off  their  hands  by  the  fifth  army 
corps.  The  remainder  of  Sunday  was  spent  in  preparing 
for  the  events  of  the  morrow. 


THE  RAID. 

It  having  been  determined  to  make  a  raid  in  the  enemy's 
rear,  forage,  rations,  and  ammunition  were  all  prepared 
by  Sunday  night.  At  daylight  on  Monday,  the  9th,  the 
column  moved  off,  Merritt's  first  division  in  advance, 
Wilson's  third  in  the  centre,  and  Gregg's  second  in  the 
rear.     The  march  was  first  towards  Fredericksburg,  but 


60  LIFE    OF    MAJOR-GEXERAL    SHERIDAN". 

when  about  three  or  four  miles  from  the  town,  the  column 
turned  to  the  right  on  to  the  Fredericksburg  and  Ghilds- 
burg  road,  and,  travelling  southerly  on  this  road,  passed 
round  the  enemy's  right  flank  to  the  south  of  Spottsylva- 
nia  Court  House  towards  Childsburg,  at  which  latter 
point  the  advance  halted.  Starting  thence  on  the  same 
road,  which  then  bears  southerly  and  westerly,  they 
reached  and  forded  the  Xorth  Anna  river  at  Anderson's 
bridge,  about  dusk,  two  miles  below  Beaver  Dam  station. 
Custer's  brigade  of  the  first  division  at  once  occupied  the 
station,  and  they  were  fortunate  enough  to  overhaul  a 
train  of  three  hundred  and  seventy-eight  of  our  wounded 
and  prisoners,  including  two  colonels  and  many  other 
officers  captured  in  the  late  operations,  and  moving  "on- 
ward to  Richmond."  The  small  guard  scattered,  and  a 
very  pleasant  and  joyful  rescue  ensued.  Half  an  hour 
more  would  have  hurried  them  by  railroad  toward  Libby 
prison. 

The  command  now  quickly  fired  the  trains  of  cars,  with 
the  depot  of  supplies,  destroying  two  locomotives,  three 
long  and  heavy  trains,  with  a  large  quantity  of  bacon, 
besides  meal,  flour,  and  other  supplies  for  Lee's  army. 
Eight  miles  of  the  Virginia  Central  railroad,  connecting 
Richmond  with  Gordonsville,  were  then  destroyed.  The 
ties  and  bridges  were  burned  and  the  rails  twisted  so  as 
to  make  the  work  effectual.  While  this  was  going  on  in 
advance,  the  rebels  had  got  scent  of  the  movement,  and 
harassed  our  flank  and  rear  in  strong  force.  The  sixth 
Ohio,  in  the  extreme  rear,  was  roughly  handled,  and 
many  of  them  wounded  and  taken  prisoners  by  a  vigorous 
charge  straight  through  their  columns.  The  first  New 
Jersey  supported  them,  and  at  last  the  rebels  were  driven 
off".  The  column  bivouacked  on  the  North  Anna,  occupying 
both  sides,  the  enemy  skirmishing  a  little  through  the 
night. 


LIFE    OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  61 

On  Tuesday  morning,  May  10th,  the  rebels  began  to 
shell  the  camp,  and  there  being  no  reason  for  remaining, 
our  forces  moved  directly  south,  but  found  the  enemy  in 
front  annoying  our  advance.  The  advance  was  continued, 
however,  across  Little  river,  with  a  short  halt  at  Ne'gro- 
foot.  The  South  Anna  was  crossed  at  Ground  Squirrel 
Bridge,  which  lies  due  south  of  Beaver  Dam,  and  the 
bridge  destroyed.  The  column  camped  near  Goodall's, 
the  rebels  molesting  it,  as  before,  during  the  night,  by 
sharpshooters. 

At  three  o'clock  on  Wednesday  morning,  May  11th,  Gen- 
eral Davies'  first  brigade  of  Gregg's  second  division,  was 
despatched  to  Ashland  station,  seven  miles  to  the  east,  on 
the  Richmond,  Fredericksburg  and  Potomac  railroad. 
The  first  Massachusetts,  reaching  the  train  at  daylight, 
charged  through  it,  driving  the  rebel  cavalry  before 
them.  They  then  fired  the  depot,  and  destroyed  stores  in 
considerable  quantity,  six  miles  of  railroad,  three  culverts, 
two  trestle-  bridges,  several  government  buildings,  a  loco- 
motive and  three  trains  of  cars.  On  the  return  the  regi- 
ment was  assailed  by  a  severe  fire  from  houses  in  the  town, 
and  left  about  thirty  men  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

The  advance,  meanwhile,  had  pushed  on,  and  destroyed 
track  still  farther  along,  on  the  same  road,  at  Glen  Allan 
station.  As  it  approached  Richmond,  the  column  found 
its  march  disputed  more  and  more  stubbornly.  At  length 
the  rebel  cavalry,  concentrated  under  General  J.  E.  B. 
Stuart,  at  Yellow  Tavern,  attacked  in  force  General 
Devens'  brigade  of  Merritt's  first  division,  our  advance. 
A  brisk  and  severe  contest  ensued,  Custer's  and  Gill's 
brigades  coming  up  in  support.  Wilson's  division  soon 
arrived  and  formed  on  the  left  of  Merritt,  and  the  enemy 
was  driven  toward  Ashland. 

A  force,  meanwhile,  moving  down  tho  Brock  road, 
entered  the  outermost  or  picket  defences  of  Richmond. 


62  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

This  rebel  line  was  taken  by  a  gallant  charge  of  General 
Custer,  who  rode  at  the  head  of  his  brigade.  Here  about 
a  hundred  prisoners  were  captured  with  a  section  of 
artillery  complete.  General  J.  E.  B.  Stuart  and  Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Pate  were  mortally  wounded. 

During  the  night  of  the  11th,  the  third  division  made 
some  reconnoissances,  around  the  second  line  of  the 
enemy's  works,  but  no  further  advance  was  attempted  in 
that  direction,  and  our  force  turned  next  morning  toward 
Meadow  bridge  on  the  Chickahominy.  It  had  been  de- 
stroyed, but  was  rebuilt  under  a  galling  fire,  and  crossed 
by  the  first  division,  Devon's  brigade  in  advance.  A 
brisk  fight  ensued,  the  rebels  attacking  both  in  front  and 
rear.  Generals  Gregg  and  Wilson,  however,  succeeded 
in  repulsing  them  in  the  rear,  and  the  bridge  being  rebuilt, 
our  forces  crossed.  Mechanicsville  and  Coal  Harbor  were 
next  reached,  and  the  column  encamped  toward  evening 
at  Gaines'  Mills.  The  march  of  May  13th  took  the 
force  to  Bottom's  bridge,  and  thence  the  column  pro- 
ceeded to  Turkey  Bend,  and  obtained  supplies  from  Gen- 
eral Butler,  four  miles  distant,  across  the  river,  at  Haxall 
Landing. 

The  ofi&cial  despatch  of  the  War  Department  is  as  fol- 
lows : 

"Washington,  May  14 — 11.40  p.  m. 

"An  official  despatch  from  General  Sheridan,  dated 
at  Bottom's  bridge,  via  Fortress  Monroe,  May  13,  states 
that  on  the  9th  instant  he  marched  around  the  enemy's 
right  flank,  and  on  the  evening  of  that  day,  reached  the 
North  Anna  river,  without  opposition. 

"  During  that  night,  he  destroyed  the  enemy's  depot  at 
Beaver  Dam,  three  large  trains  of  cars,  and  one  hundred 
cars,  two  fine  locomotives,  two  hundred  thousand  pounds 
of  bacon  and  other  stores,  amounting  in  all,  to  one  millioa 
and  a  half  of  rebel  rations  ;  also  the  telegraph  and  rail- 
road track  for  about  ten  miles,  embracing  several  culverts: 
recaptured  three  hundred  and  seventy-eight  of  our  men^ 


LTrE   OF   MAJOR- GENERAL  SHERIDAN.  63 

includinf^   two    colonels,    one    major   and    several   other 
officers. 

"  On  the  morning  of  the  10th,  he  resnmed  operations, 
crossing  the  South  Anna  at  Grand  Squirrel  bridge,  and 
went  into  camp  about  daylight, 

"  On  the  llth,  he  captured  Ashland  station,  destroyed 
here  one  locomotive  and  a  train  of  cars,  an  engine  house, 
and  two  or  three  government  buildings,  containing  a  large 
amount  of  stores ;  also  destroyed  six  miles  of  railroad, 
embracing  three  culverts,  two  trestle  bridges,  and  the 
telegraph  wire. 

"About  seven  A.  M.,  of  the  llth,  he  resumed  the  march 
on  Richmond.  He  found  the  rebel  General  Stuart  with 
his  cavalry  concentrated  at  Yellow  Tavern,  immediately 
attacked  him,  and  after  an  obstinate  contest,  gained  pos- 
session of  the  Brockeltown  pike,  capturing  two  pieces  of 
artillery,  and  driving  his  forces  back  toward  Ashland 
and  across  the  north  fork  of  the  Chickahominy.  At  the 
same  time  a  party  charged  down  the  Brock  road  and 
captured  the  first  line  of  the  enemy's  works  around  Rich- 
mond. 

"  During  the  night  he  marched  the  whole  of  his  com- 
mand between  the  first  and  second  line  of  the  enemy's 
works  on  the  blufi's  overlooking  the  line  of  the  Virginia 
Central  railroad  and  the  Mechanicsville  turnpike. 

"After  demonstrating  around  the  works  and  finding 
them  very  strong,  he  gave  up  the  intention  of  assaulting, 
and  determined  to  recross  the  Chickahominy  at  Meadow 
bridge.  It  had  been  partially  destroyed  by  the  enemy, 
but  was  repaired  in  about  three  hours,  under  a  heavy 
artillery  fire  from  a  rebel  battery.  General  Merritt  made 
the  crossing,  attacked  the  enemy  and  drove  him  off  hand- 
somely. The  pursuit  continued  as  far  as  Gaines'  Mills. 
The  enemy,  observing  the  recrossingof  the  Chickahominy, 
came  out  from  his  second  line  of  works.  A  brigade  of 
infantry  and  a  large  number  of  dismounted  cavalry  at- 
tacked the  divisions  of  Generals  Gregg  and  Wilson,  but 
after  a  severe  contest,  were  repulsed  and  driven  bjfhind 
their  works.  Gregg's  and  Wilson's  divisions  after  col- 
lecting the  wounded  recrossed  the  Chickahominy.  On 
the  afternoon  of  the  12th,  the  corps  encamped  at  Wal- 
nut Grove  and  Gaines'  Mills.     On  the  forenoon  of  tho 


6i:  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAX. 

13th,  the  march  was  resumed,  and  we  encamped  at 
Bottom's  bridge.  The  command  is  in  fine  spirits.  The 
loss  of  horses  will  not  exceed  one  hundred.  AH  the 
wounded  were  brought  off,  except  about  thirty  cases  of 
mortal  wounds,  and  those  were  well  cared  for  in  the 
farmhouses  of  the  country.  The  wounded  will  not  exceed 
two  hundred  and  fifty,  and  the  total  losses  not  over  three 
hundred  and  fifty. 

"  The  Virginia  Central  railroad  bridges  over  the  Chick- 
ahomiuy,  and  other  trestle  bridges — one  sixty  feet  in  length, 
one  thirty  feet — and  the  railroad  for  a  long  distance  south 
of  the  Chickahominy,  were  destroyed. 

"  Great  praise  is  given  the  division  commanders.  Gen- 
erals Gregg,  Wilson  and  Merritt,  and  Generals  Custer  and 
Davis,  Colonels  Gregg,  Devine,  Chapman,  Mcintosh  and 
Gibbs,  brigade  commanders  ;  and  all  the  officers  and  men 
behaved  splendidly. 

"  POSTSCRIPT. 

''May  15— 12.30  A.  m. 

"  In  a  despatch,  this  moment  received  from  Admiral 
Lee,  he  reports  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  that  the 
Richmond  papers  of  May  14th,  mention  the  death  of 
General  J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  shot  in  battle.  This,  no  doubt, 
happened  in  the  battle  with  Sheridan. 

"Edwin  M.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  War.^^ 

The  advance  of  the  Union  force  to  the  Pamunkey,  was 
effectively  supported  by  Sheridan's  cavalry.  On  the  25th 
of  May,  his  entire  body  of  horse  rejoined  the  main  army, 
having  accomplished  its  work  in  other  directions.  Having 
left  Haxall's,  he  had  started  from  White  House  on  the 
23d,  camped  that  night  at  Aylettsville,  a  village  two  miles 
south  of  the  Mattapony,  and  the  scene  of  Kilpatrick's 
operations  in  the  Stoneman  raid.  The  next  day  he  con- 
sumed in  the  march  to  Westerville  station,  the  halt  for 
the  night  being  about  nine  miles  to  the  east  of  that  place. 
The  day  following,  the  cavalry  again  reported  for  duty, 
after  an  absence  of  sixteen  dajs. 


LIFE    OF    MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN".  65 

On  Saturday  morning,  the  28th,  our  troops  had  obtained 
complete  possession  of  Hanovertown  and  the  neighboring 
region,  having  marched  probably  twenty-five  miles,  in  the 
heat  and  dust,  since  Thursday  night.  All  day  long  the 
troops  continued  to  press  forward,  and  before  night  the 
passage  of  the  Pamunkey  was  effected.  The  weather 
continued  clear  and  fine.  The  enthusiasm  and  spirit  of 
the  troops  cannot  be  spoken  of  in  terms  of  too  high  praise, 
and  they  did  with  alacrity  all  that  was  asked  of  them. 

The  battle  began  about  noon  of  Saturday,  Davies' 
brigade  of  Gregg's  second  division  being  in  advance. 
Very  soon  the  entire  division  was  hotly  engaged,  and  our 
cavalry  force  had  a  taste  of  the  severe  and  deadly  fighting 
to  which  the  infantry  are  thoroughly  accustomed.  The  rebel 
cavalrymen  were  skilfully  disposed,  taking  advantage  of 
the  neighboring  woods.  The  artillery  on  both  sides  was 
briskly  engaged.  About  two  o'clock,  while  the  fight  was 
hottest,  and  Gregg's  division  had  hardly  been  able,  even 
with  great  loss,  to  hold  the  desired  ground,  Custer's 
Michigan  brigade  of  Torbert's  first  division  came  up,  and 
pressing  gallantly  forward,  repulsed  the  rebel  forces. 
This  brigade  was  armed  with  the  Spencer  repeating  rifle, 
which  proved  very  efficient.  Under  the  concentrated  fire 
the  rebels  retired,  leaving  the  battle-field  in  our  posses- 
sion, with  a  part  of  their  killed  and  wounded  in  our  hands. 
Our  loss  was  about  four  hundred,  and  the  enemy's  not 
less.  Fitz  Hugh  Lee  and  Hampton  were  in  command 
of  their  forces. 

While  Gregg's  and  Torbert's  divisions  had  been  thus 
employed,  for  two  days,  in  clearing  the  roads  from  Chester- 
field to  Hanovertown,  in  effecting  crossings  of  the  Pamun- 
key, and  finally  in  skirmishing  and  reconnoitering  toward 
the  enemy  south  of  that  river,  Wilson's  third  division  was 
briskly  engaged  in  tearing  up  the"  Virginia  Central  and 
Fredericksburg  railroad  to  Richmond,  west  and  north  of 


66  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

Sexton's  Junction.  Such  a  destruction  was  advisable 
from  the  fact  that  our  forces  had  left  the  railroad  commu- 
nication between  Richmond  and  Gordonsville  free  from 
infantry  attack.  The  destruction  of  the  Fredericksburg 
road  must  at  once  have  convinced  the  enemy  that  that 
line  had  now  been  entirelv  abandoned,  and  that  our  forces 
had  beeu  swung  around  into  the  old  battle-ground  north- 
cast  of  Richmond. 

On  Wednesday,  June  1st,  the  cavalry  fighting,  with 
artillery  firing,  was  resumed  on  both  flanks.  In  front  of 
Hancock,  also,  and  elsewhere,  there  was  heavy  skirmish- 
ing. At  Coal  Harbor,  the  conflict  lasted  longest,  as  the 
enemy  were  determined  to  drive  us  out,  and  Sheridan's 
orders  were  to  hold  it.  Hoke's  division  was  completely 
repulsed  by  Sheridan's  dismounted  cavalry,  fighting  with 
carbines.  McLaws'  division  then  reinforced  Hoke,  and, 
other  portions  of  Longstreet's  corps  joining  subsequently, 
our  further  advance  was  checked  about  noon,  the  affair 
having  been  ver}^  creditable  to  our  cavalrymen. 

On  the  18th  of  June  additional  despatches  were  received 
at  the  War  Department  : 

"War  Department,  Washington,) 
"Saturday,  June  18,  1864—11  P.  M.j 

*' Despatches  from  General  Sheridan  have  just  been  re- 
eeived.  He  reports  a  victory  over  the  enemy  at  Trevilan 
Rtation,  on  the  Virginia  Central  railroad,  a  few  miles 
south  of  Gordonsville,  where  General  Lee,  a  few  davs 
ago,  reported  a  rebel  victory.  The  ofiicial  report  is  as 
follows  : 

''  I  have  the  honor  to  report  to  you  the  arrival  of  my 
command  at  this  point,  and  also  to  report  its  operations 
since  leaving  Newcastle  ferrv.  I  crossed  the  Pamunkev 
river  on  tiie  Yth  inst.,  marching  via  Aylett's  and  en- 
camped on  Herring  creek.  On  the  morning  of  the  8th, 
I  resumed  the  march  via  Polecat  station,  and  encamped 
three  miles  west  of  the  station.  On  the  9th  I  marched 
through    Childsburg   and    New    Market,    encamping    on 


LIFE   OF    MAJOR-GE\KRA.L   SUERIDAX.  67 

East-Nortlienpt  creek,  nenr  Young's  bridge.  On  the 
10th  1  marched  via  Andrew's  Tavern  and  Lerman's 
Store,  crossing  both  branches  of  the  North  Anna,  and  en- 
camped at  Buck  Childs,  about  three  miles  northeast  of 
Trevilau  station.  My  intention  was  to  break  the  railroad 
at  this  station,  march  through  Mechanicsville,  cut  the 
Gordonsville  and  Charlottesville  railroad  near  Lyndsay's 
House  and  then  to  march  on  Charlottesville,  but  on  our 
arrival  at  Buck  Childs,  I  found  the  enemy's  cavalry  in  my 
immediate  front.  On  the  morning  of  the  11th,  General 
Torbert,  with  his  division,  and  Colonel  Gregg,  of  General 
Gregg's  division,  attacked  the  enemy.  After  an  obstinate 
contest  they  drove  him  from  successive  lines  of  breast- 
works through  an  almost  impassable  forest  back  on  Tre- 
vilan  station.  In  the  meantime  General  Custer  was 
ordered,  with  his  brigade,  to  proceed  by  a  country  road 
so  as  to  reach  the  station  in  the  rear  of  the  enemy's 
cavalry.  On  his  arrival  at  this  point,  the  enemy  broke 
into  a  complete  rout,  leaving  his  dead  and  nearly  all  his 
wounded  in  our  hands  ;  also  twenty  officers,  five  hundred 
men,  and  three  hundred  horses. 

"These  operations  occupied  the  whole  of  the  day.  At 
night  I  encamped  at  Trevilan  station,  and  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  12th  instant  commenced  destroying  the  railroad 
from  this  point  to  Louisa  Court  House.  This  was 
thoroughly  done — the  ties  burned  and  the  rails  rendered 
unserviceable.  The  destruction  of  the  railroad  occupied 
until  three  o'clock  of  this  dav,  when  I  directed  General 
Torbert  to  advance  with  his  division  and  General  Davis's 
brigade  of  General  Gregg's  division,  in  the  direction  of 
Gordonsville,  and  attack  the  enemy,  who  had  concentrated 
and  been  reinforced  by  infanti*y  during  the  night,  and  had 
also  constructed  rifle-pits  at  a  point  about  five  miles  from 
Gordonsville.  The  advance  was  made,  but  as  the  enemy's 
position  w^as  found  too  strong  to  assault,  no  general 
assault  was  made.  On  the  extreme  right  of  our  lines  a 
portion  of  the  reserve  brigade  carried  tlic  enemy's  works 
twice,  and  was  twice  driven  therefrom  by  inf^mtrv.  Night 
closed  the  contest.  I  found,  on  examination  of  the  com- 
mand, that  there  was  not  a  sufficiency  of  ammunition  left 
to  continue  the  engagement.  The  next  day  trains  of  cars 
also  came  down  to  where  we  were  engaged  with  the 
4 


68  LIFE   OF    MAJOR-GKXEPwAL   SHERIDAN". 

enemy.  The  reports  of  prisoners  and  citizens  were,  tliat 
Pickett's  old  division  was  coming  to  prevent  the  taking 
of  Gordonsville.  I  therefore,  during  the  night  and  next 
morning,  withdrew  my  command  over  the  North  Anna  via 
Carpenter's  ford,  near  Miner's  bridge.  In  addition,  the 
animals  were,  for  the  two  entire  days  in  which  we  were 
engaged,  without  forage.  The  surrounding  country  affords 
nothing  but  grazing  of  a  very  inferior  quality,  and  gen- 
erally at  such  points  as  were  inaccessible  to  us. 

"  The  cavalry  engagement  of  the  12th  was  by  far  the 
most  brilliant  one  of  the  present  campaign.  The  enemy's 
loss  was  very  heavy.  They  lost  the  following  named  offi- 
cers in  killed  and  wounded  :  Colonel  McAllister,  com- 
manding a  regiment,  killed  ;  Brigadier-General  Resser, 
commanding  a  brigade,  wounded,  and  Colonel  Castor, 
commanding  a  regiment,  wounded.  My  loss  in  killed  and 
wounded  will  be  about  five  hundred  and  seventv-five.  Of 
this  number  four  hundred  and  ninety  are  wounded.  I 
brought  off  in  my  ambulances  three  hundred  and  seventy- 
seven — all  that  could  be  transported.  The  remainder 
were,  with  a  number  of  rebel  wounded  that  fell  into  mv 
hands,  left  behind.  Surgeons  and  attendants  were  de- 
tailed and  remained  in  charge  of  them.  I  captured  and 
have  now  with  me  three  hundred  and  seventy  prisoners 
of  war,  including  twenty  commissioned  officers.  My  loss 
in  captured  will  not  exceed  one  hundred  and  sixty.  They 
were  principally  from  the  fifth  Michigan  cavalry.  This 
regiment  gallantly  charged  down  the  Gordonsville  road, 
capturing  fifteen  hundred  horses  and  about  eight  hundred 
men,  but  were  finally  surrounded  and  had  to  give  them  up. 

"  When  the  enemy  broke  they  hurried  between  General 

Custer's  command  and  Colonel  Gregg's  brigade,  capturing 

five  caissons  of  Pennington's  battery,  three  of  which  were 

afterwards  recaptured,  leaving  in  their  hands  two  caissons. 

"P.  H.  Sheridan,  Major- Genei^al  Commanding.''^ 


LIFE   OF   MAJOH-GEXEHAL   SHERIDAN".  69 


CHAPTER  IX. 

AT   FORT   POWHATTAN. 

The  official  reports  for  the  close  of  June  state  that  on 
the  25th  of  that  month  Sheridan's  cavalry,  consisting  of 
Torbert's  and  Gregg's  divisions,  succeeded  in  crossing  the 
James  safely,  four  or  five  miles  above  Fort  Powhattan, 
where  the  pontoon  bridges  could  be  guarded  by  gunboats, 
and  the  enemy  kept  away  from  his  rear.  The  wagon 
train  was  several  miles  in  length,  and  the  cavalry  in  addi- 
tion, marching  across  two  abreast,  and  about  six  thousand 
strong,  made  the  passage  an  extended  one.  The  enemy 
was  active  upon  Sheridan's  rear,  but,  with  the  aid  of  the 
gunboats,  the  latter  was  soon  safe.  It  traversed  an  ex- 
hausted region,  and  what  with  terrible  heat  and  drought,  and 
roads  pulverized  into  dust,  the  horses  became  badly  jaded. 
Men  and  animals  were  both  wearied  by  the  long  march 
and  the  lack  of  food  and  forage.  Wade  Hampton  followed 
the  column  all  the  way,  but  did  not  venture  to  seriously 
harass  it  until  towards  its  close,  when  he  coolly  crossed 
the  Mattapony  and  Pamunkey  ahead  of  Sheridan,  outrode 
him,  and  made  an  attack  on  the  trains  which  Sheridan 
had  fortunately  left  at  White  House.  General  Aber- 
crombie,  with  two  or  three  thousand  men  and  some  field 
artillery,  and  especially  with  the  gunboats,  drove  off  the 
enemy's  cavalry,  and,  soon  after,  Sheridan  came  up,  and 
charged  on  the  retreating  enemy.  After  a  little  rest  and 
recruitment,  Sheridan  took  up  his  guns  and  his  long 
trains,  and  set  out  toward  the  James.  So  soon  as  the 
enemy  discovered  that  he  had  got  this  valuable  material 
with  him,  they  again  approached  him.  About  ten  miles 
south  of  White  House,  near  Jones's  bridge  on  the  Chicka- 


fT 


0  LIFE   OF   MAJOK-GEXERAL   SHERIDAX. 


hominy,  a  slight  skirmish  ensued,  on  the  23d.  Thence 
the  column  proceeded  slowly  towards  Charles  City  Court 
House,  and,  near  St.  Mary's  church,  on  the  24th,  found 
the  enemy  had  again  anticipated  him,  and  was  disputing 
the  way.  One  of  the  briskest  and  severest  cavalry  battles 
of  the  campaign  ensued.  General  Gregg's  division  was 
protecting  the  trains  against  which  the  enemy's  attack 
was  directed.  From  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  till  even- 
ing he  succeeded  in  keeping  the  enemy  at  bay,  hurrying 
his  wagons  along  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and  fighting  from 
one  position  to  another.  His  artillery  at  length  was  got 
into  position,  and,  although  the  enemy  charged  it  fre- 
quently, they  did  not  succeed  in  capturing  it.  At  night- 
fall the  enemy  desisted  from  the  pursuit,  and  the  whole 
expedition  got  under  cover  of  the  gunboats  near  Wilcox's 
wharf. 

AT    PETERSBURG. 

About  eight  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  "Wednesday,  the 
29th,  Captain  Whittaker  with  forty  men  of  the  third  New 
York  cavalry  cut  his  way  through  from  Reims'  to  Gen- 
eral Meade's  headquarters,  bringing  news  of  Wilson's  situa- 
tion, and  arriving  about  half-past  ten  a.  m.  Early  in  the 
afternoon,  the  sixth  corps  started  in  the  lightest  marching 
order  to  Wilson's  assistance,  and  the  same  day.  General 
Sheridan,  crossing  the  James  with  his  two  divisions,  pro- 
ceeded as  rapidly  as  possible  in  the  same  direction.  The 
sixth  corps  arrived  near  the  scene  of  action  during  the 
night,  but  the  affair  was  already  over.  The  men  accord- 
ingly took  position  and  occupied  their  time  in  destroying 
the  railroad  and  telegraph  for  a  few  miles,  and  in  burning 
several  buildings.  They  found  no  enemy  to  oppose  them 
at  Reims'.  About  noon  of  the  30th  it  was  ascertained 
that  Sheridan  was  well  on  his  way,  and  the  corps  then 
retraced  its  steps  toward  its  former  camping  ground,  going 


LIFE  OF  MAJOK  GENERAL  SHERIDAX.     71 

into  line  of  battle  at  night  along  the  Jerusalem  turnpike. 
Many  contrabands  were  recovered  by  this  advance  of  the 
sixth  corps. 


<  •  > » » 


CHAPTER   X. 

LAST   CAMPAIGN   IN   THE   SHENANDOAH. 

Lieutenant- General  Grant  visited  the  Maryland 
department  of  the  army  in  person,  in  August,  1864.  The 
result  was  that  the  forces  destined  for  the  defence  of  the 
valley,  under  General  Sheridan,  began  assembling  at 
Harper's  Ferry.  This  force  consisted  of  the  sixth  and 
nineteenth  corps  and  Crook's  division  of  infantry,  and 
Torbert's  division  of  cavalry,  with  some  of  Hunter's  cav- 
alry, being  the  brigades  of  Devins,  Custer,  Lowell,  and 
Gibbs.  On  Wednesday,  the  10th,  the  column  started 
down  the  valley.  There  was  some  skirmishing  on  Thurs- 
day and  Friday,  near  Winchester,  and  again  at  Newtown. 
On  Saturday  our  forces  were  as  far  as  Strasburg. 

During  the  eventful  month  of  August,  General  Sheridan 
continued  his  ^lovements  in  the  valley.  The  rebels 
being  found  in  a  strong  position  near  Strasburg,  and 
there  being  nothing  to  gain  by  dislodging  them,  except  to 
open  the  way  for  a  movement  up  the  valley,  for  which  he 
was  not  prepared,  he  thought  it  prudent  to  retire,  espe- 
cially as  his  communications  were  threatened  by  a  portion 
of  Longstreet's  corps  moving  toward  his  rear  from  the 
opposite  side  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  This  movement  was 
met  by  General  Merritt's  division  of  cavalry,  who  on  the 
16th  attacked  and  defeated  General  Kershaw's  division 
of  Longstreet's  corps,  capturing  nearly  three  hundred 
prisoners,  and  giving  General  Sheridan  time  to  withdraw 


72  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

to  tbe  neighborhood  of  Charlestovvn.  An  attack  was 
made  on  the  21st  by  the  enemy,  who  had  united  his 
forces  to  follow  up  our  retreat.  An  attempt  was  made  to 
pierce  our  right  near  Summit  Point,  a  feint  being  at  the 
same  time  made  on  our  left.  The  right  of  our  line  was 
formed  by  the  sixth  corps  resting  on  the  Martinsburg 
turnpike,  about  two  miles  south  of  Charlestown,  the 
left  extending  toward  Berryville  and  across  the  Berry  ville 
turnpike.  The  centre  was  held  by  the  eighth  corps,  Gen- 
eral Crook,  and  the  right  by  the  nineteenth  corps.  The 
movement  against  our  right  was  met  by  the  sixth  corps, 
who  bore  the  brunt  of  the  engagement,  fighting  nearly  all 
day  and  suffering  heavy  loss. 

On  the  morning  of  Sunday,  the  28th,  General  Sheridan 
was  on  the  march,  with  his  cavalry  in  advance,  carefully 
reconnoitering  in  various  directions.  The  enemy  were 
found,  however,  near  Smithfield,  five  or  six  miles  to  the 
southwest,  by  General  Merritt,  who  attacked  the  rebel 
cavalry  vigorously,  driving  them  through  the  town  and 
beyond  Opequan  creek,  where  he  came  in  contact  with 
infantry.  General  Custer's  brigade  of  cavalry,  with  Ran- 
som's battery,  were  moved  across  the  creek  for  the  pur- 
pose of  making  a  reconnoissance  towards  Bunker  Hill. 
But  after  an  encounter  with  the  enemy's  skirmish  line, 
they  retired  across  the  stream,  followed  by  infantry,  who 
attempted  to  outflank  them.  Our  cavalry  accordingly 
fell  back  upon  Smithfield,  in  season  to  escape  the  move- 
ment. Here  they  were  met  by  General  Rickett's  division 
of  infantry,  before  whose  advance  the  enemy  found  it  pru- 
dent rapidly  to  withdraw.  Our  loss  in  this  affair  was 
less  than  one  hundred,  including  Dr.  Rulison,  medical 
director  on  General  Torbert's  staff.  Lieutenant  Hoyer 
of  the  first  regular  cavalry  was  also  killed.  Some  prison- 
ers were  captured  by  our  cavalry. 

It  was  evidently  General   Sheridan's  plan  to  securely 


LIFE    OF    MAJOR-GENERAL    SUE Rl LAN.  7^ 

hold  his  positloQ  in  the  valley,  attempting:  no  venturesome 
expedition,  but  keeping  his  force  in  hand  to  checkmate 
any  movement  of  Early  looking  to  an  advance  northward. 
General  Grant  arrived  at  Monocacy  on  the  evening  of 
the  5th  of  August.  A  consultation  took  place  next  day 
between  Generals  Grant,  Hunter  and  Sheridan,  and  when, 
at  noon,  General  Grant  returned  to  his  own  army.  General 
Sheridan  proceeded  to  Harper's  Ferry,  and,  at  the  latter 
point,  began  to  concentrate  his  troops.  On  the  *?th  day 
of  August,  Sheridan  assumed  command  of  the  middle 
military  division,  comprising  the  old  departments  of 
Washington,  of  the  Susquehanna,  of  West  Virginia,  and 
the  middle  department.  In  a  word,  all  the  scattered 
commands  in  the  valley,  and  in  Maryland  and  Pennsylva- 
nia, were  now  united  into  one.  At  the  same  time,  head- 
quarters, which  had  been  at  Monocacy,  were  removed  to 
Harper's  Ferry.  In  the  enemy's  movements,  great 
changes  were  going  on.  After  having  driven  us  away 
from  the  Potomac  with  a  ridiculously  small  force,  his  weak- 
ness had  at  length  been  exposed  in  spite  of  his  devices 
to  conceal  it.  On  Saturday,  the  6th,  the  day  before 
Sheridan  assumed  command,  the  enemy  was  entirely  out 
of  Maryland,  and  some  distance  up  the  valley.  On  Sun- 
day, the  day  of  his  assuming  command,  our  cavalry  had 
occupied  Hagerstown,  and  the  enemy  was  found  to  be 
deliberately  retreating  toward  Winchester.  The  same 
day  Averill's  cavalry  division  severely  repulsed  an  equal 
cavalry  force  under  McCausland  and  Johnson,  far  to  the 
southwest,  at  Moorsfield,  capturing  four  hundred  prison- 
ers, four  cannon,  and  three  flags,  and  inflicting  a  large 
loss  in  killed  and  wounded,  with  a  surprisingly  small  loss 
on  our  part.  Moorsfield  is  on  the  east  side  of  the  south 
fork  of  the  Potomac,  one  hundred  and  thirty-one  miles 
northwest  of  Richmond,  forty-one  west  of  Winchester, 
and  forty-five  south  of  Cumberland. 


74  LIFE   OF    MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN". 

Such  were  the  favorable  circumstances — with  the  enemy 
entirely  in  Virginia — under  which  Sheridan  collected  the 
troops  assigned  to  him.  The  sixth  army  corps  occupied 
Halltown,  not  far  from  Harper's  Ferry.  Torbert's  first 
division  of  cavalry  had  already  come  up  from  City  Point 
to  Washington,  and  marching  from  Washington  on  the 
5th,  reached  Harper's  Ferry  on  the  8th.  Detachments  of 
cavalry  at  once  occupied  Charlestown  and  Shepherdstown, 
in  which  only  small  squads  of  the  enemy  were  found. 
The  brigades  of  Lowell  and  Devin  came  up  on  Tuesday, 
the  9th,  and,  on  that  day,  General  Torbert  took  command 
of  all  the  cavalry  of  the  middle  division,  turning  his  own 
division  over  to  General  Merritt.  Sheridan's  troops  con- 
sisted now  chiefly  of  the  sixth,  eighth  and  nineteenth  corps 
of  infantry,  and  the  infantry  of  the  old  army  of  the  Kana- 
wha, under  Crook.  A  part  of  the  nineteenth  corps,  how- 
ever, was  still  in  Louisiana.  His  cavalry  comprised  the 
entire  first  division  of  Potomac  cavalry,  Averill's  division, 
K^elly's  command,  and  Lowell's  brigade,  the  latter  having 
been  till  recently  near  Washington.  Wilson's  second 
cavalry  division  joined  Sheridan  soon  after,  having  come 
up  from  City  Point,  and  leaving  Washington  for  Win- 
chester on  the  13th. 

Against  this  strong  and  compact  army.  General  Early 
was  now  able  to  muster,  according  to  all  reports,  drawn 
from  m-iMv  discrepant  accounts,  and  some  trustworthy 
sources,  about  eighteen  thousand  men.  It  seems  to  have 
consisted,  first,  of  two  infantry  corps,  under  Rhodes  and 
Breckinridge.  Rhodes  had  his  own  old  division  and 
Ramseur's,  and  various  reserves  in  the  valley,  the  whole 
estimated  at  about  seven  thousand  men.  Ramseur's 
division  comprised  the  brigades  of  Lillie  (formerly  of 
Pegram),  Evans  and  Johnson.  Breckinridge  had  the 
divisions  of  Wharton  and  Gordon,  four  thousand  five 
hundred  or  five  thousand  strong,  the  former  having  two 


LIFE    OF   MAJOR-GENEKAL    SHERIDAN.  75 

brigades,  and  the  latter  (like  Rhodes'  old  division)  con- 
sisting of  four.  Ransom's  cavalry  consisted  of  about  five 
thousand  five  hundred  troops,  divided  into  four  brigades, 
under  Imboden,  McCausland,  Jackson  and  Yaughan. 
The  artillery,  under  Long,  consisted  of  three  battalions, 
and  not  far  from  fifty  guns. 

THE   ADVANCE. 

At  sunrise  on  Wednesday  morning,  the  10th  of  August, 
Sheridan  began  to  move  out  his  forces  from  Halltown  for 
the  repossession  of  the  valley.  The  force  reached  Charles- 
town  in  two  hours,  where  the  nineteenth  corps  struck  off 
to  the  left  for  Berry  ville,  preceded  by  the  cavalry  brigades 
of  Custer  and  Gibbs.  Still  further  to  the  left  marched 
Crook's  infantry,  with  mounted  men  in  advance.  Finally, 
on  the  right,  the  sixth  corps,  preceded  by  the  brigades 
of  Devin  and  Lowell,  kept  on  the  Winchester  road  a 
few  miles,  and  then  turned  off  toward  Smithsfield,  and 
toward  the  nineteenth.  The  weather  was  terribly  hot, 
and  the  dust,  heat,  and  drought,  made  it  difficult  to  push 
the  men  on.  At  Berryville,  the  roads  of  the  tw^o  right 
columns  met ;  and  about  noon  the  several  cavalry  brigades 
of  Custer,  Devin,  Gibbs,  and  Lowell,  there  formed  junction, 
and  marched  toward  the  Millwood  and  Winchester  pike, 
along  a  cross-road.  Just  beyond  Berryville,  four  of  the 
enemy  were  taken  in  a  barn,  while  engaged  in  threshing 
wheat;  and  evidences  of  the  employment  of  many  others 
in  the  same  labor  soon  accumulated.  The  enemy's 
soldiers  had  sown'^much  of  the  wheat  in  the  spring,  and 
were  now  harvesting  it  and  transporting  it  to  Richmond. 

Four  miles  from  Berryville,  near  Dr.  Randolph's,  a 
few  of  the  enemy's  skirmishers  were  posted  to  defend  the 
Winchester  pike.  The  sixth  Pennsylvania  and  first 
"New  York,  of  Gibbs'  reserve  brigade,  easily  drove  them 
off,  after  a  half  hour's  skirmishing,  with  a  loss  of  only 


76  LIFE    OF   MAJOR-GEXERAL   SHERIDAN. 

about  twenty  men  on  our  side,  all  wounded.  Lowell  also 
had  a  slight  skirmish,  on  the  road  from  Charlestown  to 
Summit  Point,  and  captured  a  few  prisoners.  The 
infantry  bivouacked  in  the  vicinity  of  Berrysville,  after  a 
march  of  about  fifteen  miles,  on  the  different  roads  they 
had  taken,  with  the  sixth  corps  on  the  right,  the  nine- 
teenth in  the  centre,  and  Crook's  troops  on  the  left.  The 
cavalry,  in  advance,  held  the  Winchester  and  Millwood 
pike,  and  picketed  all  the  neighborhood.  Colonel  Cesnola 
took  possession  of  Millwood  with  his  regiment,  capturing 
there  a  few  horses  and  cattle.  Lieutenants  Mix  and 
Lenox,  of  the  second  cavalry,  were  severely  wounded  in 
Gibbs'  skirmishes.     So  ended  Wednesday. 

AFFAIR  AT  NEWTOWN. 

Next  day,  Thursday,  the  army  took  the  road  from 
Berryville  to  Winchester,  the  cavalry,  of  course,  in  ad- 
vance. Custer's  Michigan  brigade  led  off,  and  near 
Sulphur  Springs  bridge,  about  three  miles  from  Win- 
chester, encountered  the  enemy  in  some  force.  A  sharp 
skirmish  by  the  first,  fifth,  sixth  and  seventh  Michigan 
cavalry,  and  Ransom's  battery,  on  our  part,  took  place. 
The  enemy  had  no  artillery.  The  fight  lasted  about  two 
hours,  when  we  were  flanked,  checked,  and  driven  back 
Our  loss  was  only  about  thirty  men,  including  Captain 
Mathers,  who  was  killed.  General  Custer  withdrew  his 
command,  having  attained  his  object,  which  was  to  verify 
the  fact  that  Early  had  begun  to  move  his  command  up 
the  valley  from  Winchester  the  day  be?bre. 

Meanwhile,  Deven's  second  brigade,  followed  by  Gibbs' 
reserve  brigade,  of  the  first  cavalry  division,  had  moved 
off  on  the  road  toward  White  Post,  with  the  design  of 
gaining  the  flunk  of  the  enemy,  and  of  arriving  by  a 
circuitous  route  at  Newtown,  on  the  Winchester  and 
Strasburg  pike,  along  which  the  enemy  was  now  retreat- 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  77 

ing.  Cesnola's  fourth  New  York,  in  advance,  sooq 
encountered  the  enemy,  and  had  brisk  skirmishing  near 
White  Post,  and  beyond  it,  driving  the  enemy's  skir- 
mishers to  their  supports.  At  length,  at  the  cross-roads, 
on  the  stonepike  to  Front  Royal,  Cesnola  found  himself 
checked,  and  the  rest  of  the  second  brigade  was  sent  in. 
The  sixth  New  York  was  repulsed  with  some  loss  in  a 
mounted  charge.  The  fourth,  sixth,  and  ninth  New 
York,  and  seventeenth  Pennsylvania,  then  advanced, 
dismounted,  supported  by  Pierce's  battery.  The  fight 
lasted  from  eleven  till  two,  with  no  decisive  result,  though 
the  enemy  gave  way  some  distance  toward  Newtown. 
His  force  consisted  of  Jones'  Tennessee  brigade  of  mounted 
infantry,  with  three  field-pieces.  His  position  was  very 
strong,  and,  until  he  was  forced  from  it,  he  succeeded  in 
inflicting  a  heavy  loss  on  our  troops.  But  the  cross-roads 
were  carried,  and,  at  four  o'clock,  Crook  came  up  with  his 
infantry,  relieved  Deven,  and,  passing  on  toward  Front 
Royal,  bivouacked  several  miles  south  of  the  cross-roads. 
Deven's.  brigade  then  marched  on  to  the  relief  of  Gibbs, 
who  had  moved  to  White  Post,  and  thence  nearly  to 
Newtown,  and  was  now  hotly  engaged.  The  first  and 
second  cavalry,  the  first  New  York  and  sixth  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  battery  D,  of  the  second  artillery,  attacked  the 
enemy,  but  were  driven  back.  Fortunately,  Deven's 
whole  brigade  arrived  at  this  juncture,  and  succeeded  in 
checking  the  enemy.  The  latter  fell  back  to  the  woods, 
and  our  forces  also  retired  about  a  mile,  and  bivouacked, 
with  a  strong  picket  guard  in  front.  The  object  of  the 
day's  march  was  not  attained,  as  the  enemy,  by  hard 
fighting,  had  succeeded  in  retaining  Newtown,  and  covered 
the  passage  of  his  trains,  which  passed  on  a  parallel  road, 
a  little  west  of  the  Strasburg  pike.  Our  total  loss  was 
probably  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  or  three  hundred, 
of  which  one  hundred  and  fifty  were  ascribed  to  Gibbs, 


78  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN". 

and  about  sixty  to  Deven.  Custer's  loss  is  not  stated.  The 
infantrv  had  a  severe  march  in  the  torrid  weather,  but  no 
fighting  ;  the  only  casualties  being  the  numerous  ones 
from  sunstroke.  They  passed  beyond  Winchester  and 
Millwood,  now  evacuated  by  the  enemy,  and  camped,  at 
night,  six  miles  to  the  southeast  of  the  former  place. 
Early,  fathoming  the  design  of  Sheridan  to  flank  him,  had 
begun  his  withdrawal  from  Winchester  to  jS'ewtown  on 
Wednesday  morning,  and  continued  it  till  Thursday 
morning.  About  ten  o'clock  of  the  latter  day,  Lowell's 
cavalry  charged  through  the  town,  but  effected  nothing, 
for  the  rear-guard  had  already  moved  out  at  the  other 
end.  The  fighting  of  the  day  was  entirely  conducted  by 
Early's  rear-guard. 

THE  ADVANCE  CONTINUED. 

Early  on  Friday,  the  12th,  the  column  moved  forward 
again,  having  ascertained  that  the  enemy  had  retreated. 
Lowell's  brigade  had  the  cavalry  advance  to  Newtown, 
and  thence  the  march  to  Strasburg  in  three  columns, 
Lowell  on  the  right,  Gibbs  in  the  centre  on  the  pike,  and 
Custer  on  the  left.  The  ninth  New  York  reconnoitered 
toward  Front  Royal,  which  contained  a  picket  of  the 
enemy.  The  cavalry  pushed  on,  skirmishing  most  of  the 
way  to  Cedar  creek,  above  Middletown.  There,  about 
noon,  a  force  of  the  enemy  was  found  in  position  on  a  hill 
in  front  of  Strasburg,  from  which  they  shelled  and  drove 
back  the  cavalry  skirmishers.  The  latter  were  then 
relieved  by  the  eighth  corps,  which  had  now  arrived.  A 
reconnoissance,  made  by  the  fourth  New  York  to  Faucet 
gap,  in  Xorth  mountain,  discovered  no  enemy  there. 
One  made  by  the  second  brigade  on  the  back  road  to 
Strasburg,  resulted  in  -a  slight  skirmish  with  the  rear 
guard  of  one  of  Early's  trains,  who  drove  off  the  sixth 
New  York,  and  continued  on  unmolested.     The  enemy 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GKNKIIAL   SUERIDAN.  79 

remained  encamped  on  tlio  soutliwest  side  of  Cedar  creek, 
in  some  old  breastworks,  and  our  forces  bivouacked  on 
the  northeast  side  of  the  creek.  There  was  brisk  skir- 
mishing all  through  the  day,  and  some  spiteful  shelling 
across  the  creek  at  evening,  but  no  general  engagement. 
On  passing  through  Stephensburg  and  Middletown  in  the 
forenoon,  our  forces  had  met  no  enemy.  Cedar  creek  is 
about  three  miles  north  of  Strasburg.  The  three  days' 
marching  had  not  been  remarkable.  But,  considering  the 
heat,  dust,  and  drought,  very  good  time  had  been  made. 

Saturday  morning,  our  skirmishers  got  into  Strasburg, 
beyond  which  the  enemy  had  retired  during  the  night. 
But  they  withdrew  again  on  the  reappearance  of  the 
enemy,  and  the  whole  army,  which  had  again  started  out, 
was  recalled,  and  during  Saturday  and  Sunday,  our 
forces  remained  inactive  around  Cedar  creek.  Stras- 
burg was  retained  by  the  enemy.  Sunday  and  Monday 
there  was  light  skirmishing.  Sheridan's  headquarters 
were  one  mile  from  the  creek,  on  a  spot  similarly  used  in 
turn  by  Fremont,  Sigel,  and  Hunter.  On  Sunday  even- 
ing, a  skirmish  line  of  the  sixth  and  eighth  corps  was 
pushed  out,  and  easily  captured  the  heights  in  front  of 
Strasburg,  the  enemy's  weak  line  retiring  into  the  town. 
Our  loss  was  only  twenty  or  thirty.  Next  morning  the 
enemy's  pickets,  which  were  all  the  force  that  had  held 
the  town  for  two  days,  retired.  But  works  on  Fisher's 
hill,  beyond  Strasburg,  still  commanded  it.  Once  more 
Sheridan  moved  forward  from  Charlestown,  to  which 
point  he  had  retired.  The  advance  began  early  on 
Saturday,  the  3d.  At  ten  and  a-half  A.  m.,  a  sharp  fight 
took  place  between  the  second  cavalry  division  and 
Lomax's  cavalry,  the  latter  attacking  our  line  near 
Darkesville,  seven  miles  south  of  Martinsburg.  The 
cavalry  successfully  repulsed  the  enemy,  and  drove  him 
from  the  field,  suffering  a  loss  of  less  than  fifty  men. 


80  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

Meanwhile,  Crook's  infantry  reached  Berryville  about 
noon.  While  encamped  for  rest  and  dinner,  they  were 
suddenly  attacked  by  the  enemy.  Crook  hastily  formed 
his  men,  consisting  of  the  Kanawha  troops  and  portions 
of  the  eighth  corps,  and  a  severe  battle  ensued,  lasting 
till  after  dark.  The  enemy  was  repulsed,  with  severe 
loss,  including  sixty  or  seventy  prisoners  captured.  Our 
loss  was  estimated  at  about  three  hundred.  The  rest  of 
the  army  now  came  up  and  went  into  position  near 
Berryville. 

BATTLE  OF  CROOKED  RUN. 

With  a  view  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  flanking  us  by 
way  of  the  gaps  in  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  to  cover  our  re- 
treat, on  Sunday  evening  Deven's  cavalry  brigade  was 
sent  out  from  Cedar  creek,  where  the  main  army  was 
encamped,  a  few  miles  to  the  southeast,  toward  Front 
Royal.  A  small  stream  runs  from  Chester  gap  past 
Front  Royal  into  the  Shenandoah  at  this  point.  Near  by, 
the  two  forks  of  the  Shenandoah  unite.  A  part  of  Ker- 
shaw's division^  having  taken  part  in  the  actions  near 
Malvern  Hill,  had  come  by  rail  to  Mitchell  station,  and 
had  just  marched  thence  to  Front  Royal.  On  Tuesday 
morning,  the  16th,  Custer's  brigade  was  sent  across  to 
support  Deven,  who  was  about  four  miles  from  Front 
Royal,  Gibbs'  brigade  following.  Custer  arrived  soon 
after  noon,  and  his  men  went  into  camp,  and  made  them- 
selves comfortable.  Deven  held  the  right  and  Custer  the 
left.  But  the  line  was  very  suddenly  roused  from  its 
equanimity  by  the  appearance  of  the  enemy  in  two  col- 
umns, marching  down  the  Winchester  and  Front  Royal 
pike,  to  cross  the  Shenandoah  and  attack  our  troops.  A 
column  of  infantry  made  for  the  ford,  and  one  of  cavalry 
for  the  bridge.  Custer  quickly  got  his  command  into 
position,  holding  the  left  of  the  pike  with  Ransom's 
battery,  and  the  first,  fifth,  sixth   and  seventh  Michigan. 


LIFE    OF    MAJOR-GEXERAL   SHERIDAX.  81 

A  brisk  artillery  duel  took  jilaco,  the  enemy  using  eight 
pieces,  but  with  no  great  damage  to  us.  IJut,  having 
seized  and  crossed  the  river,  and  driven  in  our  skirmishers, 
he  advanced  to  carry  our  batteries,  which  were  advan- 
tageously posted.  After  a  brisk  charge,  he  was  repulsed 
on  our  right,  and  driven  across  the  river  again,  the  fourth 
and  sixth  New  York,  of  Deven's  brigade,  charging  him 
gallantly,  and  capturing  each  a  flag.  Meanwhile,  how- 
ever, he  secured  a  good  position  for  his  artillery,  and  next 
attempted  to  turn  our  left.  A  series  of  sharp  charges 
and  counter  charges  between  the  brigade  of  Kershaw's 
division  which  had  crossed,  and  Custer's  cavalry  brigade, 
now  ensued,  prolonging  the  battle  till  after  dark.  Custer 
had  posted  bis  regiments  well,  and  the  assaults  of  the 
enemy  were  repulsed  with  heavy  loss  to  him.  Our  cav- 
alry then  made  several  handsome  mounted  charges,  and 
the  enemy,  foiled  on  the  left,  as  he  had  been  previously 
on  the  right,  fell  back  across  the  stream.  But  a  regiment 
sent  round  to  the  ford,  cut  ©£f  and  captured  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  of  his  men,  before  they  could  reach  the 
river.  The  enemy's  force  consisted  of  a  part  of  Kershaw's 
division,  and  two  small  cavalry  brigades  under  Lomax 
and  Wickham.  Ours  w^as  composed  of  Custer's  and 
Deven's  brigades,  under  command  of  General  Merritt. 
The  second  brigade  captured  one  hundred  and  forty 
prisoners,  and  the  first  over  sixty.  About  two  hundred 
(one  account  says  two  hundred  and  seventy-six)  prisoners 
in  all,  including  two  field  officers,  were  captured  by  us, 
and  over  thirty  of  the  enemy's  dead  were  left  on  the  field, 
including  a  colonel,  besides  many  wounded.  Our  total 
loss  was  only  sixty  or  seventy. 

During  the  night  the  enemy  demonstrated  against  our 
lines,  but  effected  nothing  important.  Early  the  next 
morning  the  cavalry  fell  back  on  the  pike,  in  the  track  of 
the  infantry  column.     On  the  retreat,  the  orders  were  for 


82  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GEXERAL  SHERIDAN. 

the  destruction  or  capture  of  all  stock  and  grain,  bay,  and 
every  thing  which  could  afford  sustenance  to  man  or  beast. 
These  orders  were  strictly  executed,  the  fields  and  gardens 
being  ravaged  and  swept  clean.    A  Richmond  paper  said  : 

"  The  enemy,  as  they  retired  from  Strasburg,  literally 
destroyed  every  thing  in  the  way  of  food  for  man  or  beast. 
With  their  immense  cavalry  they  extended  their  lines  from 
Front  Royal,  in  Warren  county,  to  the  North  Mountains, 
west  of  Strasburg,  and  burnt  every  bushel  of  wheat  in 
stack,  barn,  or  mill,  in  Frederick,  Warren,  and  Clark,  as 
well  as  oats  and  hay.  They  have  really  left  absolutely 
nothing:  in  those  three  counties.  They  drove  before  them 
every  horse,  cow,  sheep,  hog,  calf,  and  living  animal,  from 
the  country.  What  the  people  are  to  do  God  only  knows. 
General  Early,  two  weeks  since,  gave  orders  not  to  have 
a  bushel  of  grain  taken  from  below  Strasburg,  as  hardly 
enough  was  left  for  the  citizens.  Our  corn  crop,  for  want 
of  labor  to  cultivate,  and  the  drought,  is  a  failure — so  that 
starvation  on  the  border  is  no  joke." 

The  enemy  followed  close  on  our  heels,  and  reached 
Winchester  before  night  of  Wednesday.  Our  wagon  train, 
starting  on  Monday,  w^as  now  well  advanced  toward 
Harper's  Ferry,  and  the  sixth  corps,  which  brought  up 
the  rear  of  the  infantry  column,  had  left  Winchester  on 
the  morning  of  Wednesday.  Penrose's  (New  Jersey) 
first  brigade,  first  division  of  the  corps,  had  been  left  be- 
hind as  a  support  to  Torbert's  cavalry.  About  one  o'clock 
of  Wednesday  afternoon,  the  enemy's  advance  came  up 
the  Winchester  and  Newton  pike,  and  attacked  Colonel 
Penrose,  who  lay  about  a  mile  beyond  Winchester,  toward 
Kernstown.  Our  cavalry  were  quickly  driven  in,  and 
left  the  brunt  of  the  battle  to  the  infantry.  Heavy  skir- 
mishing went  on  from  one  to  four  o'clock,  the  enemy,  of 
course,  gradually  drawing  up  his  forces.  The  brigade 
numbered  only  about  five  hundred  men,  and  had  to  be 
deplo3''ed  in  skirmishing  order  with  cavalry  on  its  flanks. 
The  cavalry  gave  way,  and  retired  to  the  town,  leaving 


LIFE   OF   MAJOK-GEXERAL   SnEPJDAN".  83 

Penrose  still  at  bis  post,  bebind  fences,  trees,  and  walls. 
At  nigbtfall  tbe  enemy  had  concentrated  troops  enonp^b  to 
cbarge,  and  tbe  gallant  infantry  brigade  was,  of  course, 
quickly  flanked  on  botb  sides  and  broken  to  pieces.  It 
had  stood  its  ground  bravely  to  tbe  last  against  over- 
wbelming  force,  being  attacked  by  Early's  main  column. 
At  length  Penrose,  with  such  officers  and  men  as  could 
escape,  retreated  through  tbe  town  toward  Clifton  and 
Martinsburg.  Our  loss,  which  was  chiefly  in  prisoners, 
probably  reached  three  hundred  men.  At  night  the 
enemy  occupied  Winchester,  and  was  agreeably  disap- 
pointed to  find  it  whole  and  unburned.  A  Richmond 
paper  says — "  It  is  but  justice  to  say,  when  General 
Emory,  of  tbe  nineteenth  corps,  was  here,  he  kept  perfect 
order,  and  protected  all  property  in  town." 

This  same  night  our  cavalry  bivouacked  at  Berryville, 
and  next  day  took  up  its  retreat  toward  Harper's  Ferry. 
"  Mosby's  gang,"  meanwhile,  had  been  busy,  as  usual,  on 
our  flanks.  On  Monday  night  he  had  boldly  surprised 
and  attacked  the  fifth  New  York  cavalry,  just  as  it  went 
into  camp  near  Berryville,  and  killed  two  men,  wounded 
several  more,  and  captured  about  twenty  horses.  All  tbe 
week  Mosby's  guerrillas — for  whatever  is  done  near  the 
Potomac  Is  at  once  laid  to  Mosby — were  very  active. 
On  Tuesdavand  Wednesdav,  Lieutenant  Walker  and  two 
men  of  the  first  cavalry  were  killed,  and  Lieutenant 
Gwyer  of  the  fifth,  with  several  others,  were  wounded  by 
guerrillas  between  Cbarlestown  and  Berryville.  On  Thurs- 
day, some  guerrillas  in  citizens'  dress  accosted  an  ad- 
vanced post  of  tbe  fifth  Michigan  cavalry,  picketed  at 
Snicker's  gap,  and  while  conversing,  suddenly  fired, 
killed  the  corporal,  captured  two  men,  and  hastily  es- 
caped. Several  other  soldi«fB  were  wounded  or  taken 
prisoners,  under  like  circumstances,  the  same  day  and 
next.     On  Friday,  General  Custer  ordered  a  detachment 


84  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

of  the  fifth  Michigan  to  destroy  some  houses  of  disloyal 
citizens  in  retaliation.  While  so  engaged,  the  squad  was 
charged  upon  by  Mosby's  men,  in  equal  or  superior 
numbers,  and  broke  and  fled  in  confusion.  Many  were 
overtaken,  and  surrendering,  were  shot,  and  either  killed 
or  left  for  dead.  Ten  men  were  instantly  murdered  after 
surrendering.  Many  neighboring  houses  were  destroyed 
in  retaliation  for  the  butchery.  The  massacre  took  place 
near  the  Snicker's  gap  pike.  Our  loss  was  fifteen  killed 
and  three  wounded.  These  figures,  as  well  as  incontes- 
table evidence  of  the  survivors,  show  the  nature  of  the 
affair.  A  Richmond  paper  confirms  the  account  also,  and 
mentions  it  with  approval.  Our  cavalry  on  Friday  still 
held  Berryville  ;  but  many  stragglers  from  camp  were 
captured,  as  were  also  laborers  on  the  railroad.  Some  of 
the  soldiers  met  no  mercy  from  their  captors. 

During  the  retreat,  Averill,  who  commanded  at  Mar- 
tinsburg,  had  continued  to  hold  it,  though  by  Thursday 
there  was  great  alarm  there.  And,  indeed,  there  had 
already  begun  in  Maryland  the  old  story  of  "another  in- 
vasion of  the  North  by  Early."  Refugees  arrived  at 
Hagerstown  in  large  numbers,  and  the  Maryland  farmers 
ran  their  stock  into  Pennsylvania  again  for  safety.  On 
Thursday,  the  18th,  Averill  abandoned  Martinsburg  with 
his  main  force,  leaving  one  cavalry  company  in  the  town. 
A  general  stampede  of  the  people  in  all  that  region  took 
place,  and  reports  of  Sheridan's  defeat  were  current. 
The  merchants  in  Hagerstown  packed  their  goods  aad 
sent  them  north.  The  quartermaster's  stores  were  loaded 
on  a  train  for  Frederick.  The  Hagerstown  stores  were 
closed,  and  the  streets  were  deserted  by  the  citizens. 
The  sick  and  wounded  were  carried  to  Harrisburg.  This 
was  a  specimen  of  what  occurred  in  the  whole  region. 
This  was  "Early's  fourth  invasion  !" 

Averill,  meanwhile,  held  the  fords  from  Shepardstown 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  85 

to  Williamsport,  and  once  more  our  forces  were  crowded 
back  to  Maryland,  and  addressed  their  energies  to  pre- 
venting a  crossing  of  the  Potomac. 

AFFAIRS  AT  SUMMIT  POINT. 

On  Sunday,  the  21st,  Sheridan  had  got  his  troops  into 
a  very  advantageous  position,  about  two  miles  out  from 
Charlestown,  near  Summit  Point,  from  the  Smithfield  to 
the  Berryville  pike,  with  the  sixth  corps  on  the  right,  the 
eighth  in  the  centre,  and  the  nineteenth  on  the  left,  the 
latter  overlapping  the  Berryville  pike.  About  eight 
o'clock,  Early  came  up,  on  his  road  to  Martinsburg,  and 
with  a  part  of  his  columns  attacked  our  advanced  cavalry 
skirmishers,  on  the  right  and  left,  easily  driving  them  in. 
His  main  body  moved  off  across  our  right ;  but  with  a 
small  force  he  drove  back  Wilson's  cavalry  division  from 
its  good  position  on  Summit  Point,  with  very  great  loss. 
Mackintosh's  brigade  alone  is  said  to  have  lost  nearly 
three  hundred  men  and  officers.  Soon  after,  the  cavalry 
being  routed,  the  enemy  threw  a  few  brigades  against  the 
sixth  corps  and  the  right  of  the  eighth,  under  a  heavy  fire 
of  shells.  The  cavalry  meanwhile  had  fallen  through 
Charlestown,  and  beyond  the  tow^n,  except  a  part,  which 
got  out  on  the  extreme  left  of  the  nineteenth  corps,  and 
dismounting,  threw  up  breastworks.  But  the  fighting 
which  ensued  was  all  on  the  right.  It  lasted  from  ten 
o'clock  through  the  day.  The  sixth  corps  steadily  ad- 
vanced, and  drove  the  enemy's  skirmishers  back,  until 
they  came  upon  the  enemy's  own  line  of  battle.  Then, 
at  dark,  they  retired  to  their  original  position,  after  very 
heavy  skirmishing  all  day.  Cannonading  was  kept  up 
still  later.  The  losses  in  the  sixth  corps  were  quite  large, 
the  second  division  losing  about  four  hundred  officers  and 
men. 


86  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

On  Wednesday,  the  24th,  Johnson's  brigade  of  Duval's 
division,  and  a  brigade  of  Thorburn's  division.  Crook's 
corps,  with  Lowell's  cavalry  brigade,  reconnoitered  the 
enemy,  who  still  persisted  in  not  attacking  us.  The  com- 
mand moved  out  on  our  left,  near  the  Charlestown  pike, 
and  coming  upon  the  enemy's  picket  line,  endeavored  to 
flank  and  capture  it.  The  enemy  opened  sharply  on 
Duval's  flank,  on  discovering  him ;  but  was  pushed  back 
into  the  corn-fields,  toward  his  main  line.  Being  now  re- 
inforced by  infantry  and  a  battery,  he  opened  a  hot  fire 
upon  us,  evidently  thinking  it  a  general  advance.  Having 
ascertained  that  Early  was  still  at  Charlestown  in  force, 
with  his  pickets  out  toward  Bunker  Hill,  our  men  fell 
back  to  their  lines.  The  enemy  also  drew  up  to  their  old 
skirmish  line.  Our  loss  was  about  sixty — the  enemy's  not 
quite  so  great. 

On  Thursday,  the  25th,  Torbert's  cavalry  reconnoitered 
toward  Leetown  in  full  force,  Wilson's  division  moving 
out  from  Halltown  and  uniting  with  Merritt's  at  Kearneys- 
ville.  At  the  latter  place,  the  enemy's  skirmishers  re- 
tired, but  finally  resisted  with  a  battery  and  with  musketry. 
The  troops  were  dismounted,  and  Custer  became  quickly 
engaged  on  the  right  of  the  Shepardstown  road.  On  his 
left  was  Mcintosh,  and  on  the  latter's  left  was  Chapman, 
both  of  Wilson's  division.  For  a  while  the  enemy  poured 
in  a  heavy  fire,  but  at  length  our  commands  were  got  into 
working  order,  and  drove  the  enemy  back.  Our  batteries 
also  were  efl"ectively  served  on  him.  But  soon  the  enemy 
turned  the  tide,  drove  our  men  precipitately  to  their 
old  position,  and  began  to  flank  them.  His  battery 
played  accurately  upon  us.  In  a  word,  the  first  and 
third  divisions  were  badly  handled,  and  fell  back  as  rap- 
idly as  possible  toward  Harper's  Ferry,  abandoning 
Kearneys ville,  which  they  had  held  in  the  morning.  A 
running  fight  ensued  from  eleven  o'clock  till  dark,  at  which 


IJFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  87 

time  Merritt's  (first)  division  was  safe  in  camp  at  Bolivar 
Heights.  But  Custer,  who  had  the  rear  in  the  retreat, 
was  hotly  pursued,  and  at  Shepardstown  found  himself 
cut  ofl'  from  the  Halltown  road,  on  which  he  intended  to 
march.  Gibbs  and  Di  Cesnola  fought  the  enemy  with 
great  vigor,  but  Custer  was  driven  toward  the  Potomac, 
which  he  crossed,  and  thus  escaped,  the  enemy  not  caring 
to  follow,  but  holding  the  Potomac  from  Shepardstown  to 
Williamsport.  Our  losses  were  reported  as  not  much 
above  two  hundred  killed  and  wounded.  Among  the 
officers  killed  was  Major  Schlick.  The  enemy  had  brought 
up  from  Charlestown  a  strong  infantry  force. 

About  five  o'clock  the  same  evening,  AverilPs  picket- 
post  near  Falling  Waters  was  attacked,  and  a  slight  skir- 
mish ensued.  The  next  morning,  the  26th,  the  enemy 
shelled  Williamsport  also,  and  demonstrated  as  if  about  to 
cross  at  the  ford.  A  spirited  fight  occurred,  but  Averill  re- 
pulsed the  enemy.  At  night,  he  appeared  at  Dam  No.  4. 
Averill  again  thwarted  his  attempts  or  feints  at  crossing, 
whichever  they  were.  All  along  the  neighborhood  of 
Williamsport  the  enemy  had  skirmishers,  but  none  of  them 
succeeded  in  crossing  the  river.  Scouting  and  skirmish- 
ing were  constant.  On  Friday  afternoon,  Thorburn's 
second  division  of  Crook's  corps,  and  Lowell's  cavalry, 
pushed  a  reconnoissance  toward  Halltown.  The  infantry 
moved  out  in  front,  and  the  cavalry  on  the  left.  The 
former  soon  encountered  the  enemy,  and  after  a  sharp  con- 
test of  twenty  minutes,  drove  him  to  the  cover  of  bis  artil- 
lery in  the  rear.  At  the  moment  they  broke,  Lowell 
dashed  in  on  the  flank,  delivered  a  sharp  fire,  and  cut  off 
and  captured  sixty-nine  prisoners,  including  six  officers, 
one  a  lieutenant-colonel.  The  enemy's  second  line  opened 
with  vigor  on  our  troops  as  they  advanced,  but  the  latter 
were  soon  retired,  having  gained  the  information  sought 
for.     An  artillery  duel  went  on  for  half  an  hour  after  the 


88  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

recall  of  the  troops.  The  afFair  was  quite  similar  to  the 
reconnoissance  of  Wednesday,  the  troops  employed  being 
about  the  same,  and  the  ground  traversed  also  the  same. 
Our  loss  did  not  exceed  one  hundred,  while  the  eneair's 
was  greater.  Sheridan  telegraphed  that  during  the  dny 
he  had  captured  one  hundred  and  one  prisoners,  and  in- 
flicted a  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty.  He  also  said  that  during  the  night  the  enemy  fell 
back  to  Smithfield  or  Middleway. 

FISHER'S  HILL. 

By  Wednesday  morning,  the  21st,  Sheridan's  army  was 
all  in  good  position.  The  enemy  was  posted  with  his 
right  on  the  north  fork  of  the  Shenandoah,  and  his  left 
on  the  North  Mountain.  His  line,  running  westerly,  ex- 
tended across  the  Strasburg  valley.  There  was  con- 
siderable manceuvering  for  position  till  after  mid-day. 
Crook's  eighth  corps  was  on  our  right,  Wright's  sixth  in 
the  centre,  and  Emory's  nineteenth  on  the  left.  While 
Emory  demonstrated  on  the  left,  Rickett's  division  of  the 
sixth  corps  advanced  directly  in  front,  and  Averill  drove 
in  the  enemy's  skirmishers.  Und^r  cover  of  these  de- 
monstrations, Crook  moved  out  to  the  extreme  right,  and 
after  an  arduous  march,  swept  about  and  flanked  the 
enemy's  left.  At  four  or  five  o'clock  in  the  evening,  a 
gallant  charge  was  made  by  Crook,  who  carried  the 
enemy  before  him,  turning  him  out  of  his  intreachments 
in  great  confusion.  At  the  same  time,  Wright  attacked 
in  the  centre,  and  Emory  on  the  left,  and  Averill  skirted 
along  the  base  of  the  South  Mountain.  With  great 
rapidity,  the  sixth  corps  broke  in  the  enemy's  centre, 
separating  his  two  wings,  and  in  great  disorganization, 
the  enemy  broke  and  fled  toward  Woodstock.  Artillery, 
horses,  wagons,  rifles,  knapsacks,  and  canteens,  were 
abandoned  in  the  flight  and  lined  the  road.     It  was  a 


LIFE    OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  89 

very  disastrous  defeat.  Eleven  hundred  prisoners  and 
sixteen  pieces  of  artillery  were  captured,  besides  a  great 
many  caissons  and  artillery  horses,  with  ammunition, 
small  arms,  and  such  spoils  as  fall  from  an  army  retreating 
under  such  disadvantages. 

No  sooner  had  Early  abandoned  his  strong  position, 
than  Sheridan  was  on  his  trail.  He  marched  his  troops 
on  the  night  after  the  battle  to  Woodstock,  and  there 
halted,  next  morning,  for  rest  and  rations.  Averill, 
pushing  on  in  advance,  drove  the  enemy  to  Mount  Jack- 
son, twenty-five  miles  south  of  Strasburg,  where  ho 
halted  and  made  a  stand,  checking  our  advance  with 
infantry  and  artillery.  From  Woodstock,  Sheridan  moved 
rapidly  up  the  valley  to  Mount  Jackson,  and  thence  to 
!New  Market,  and  on  Sunday,  the  25th,  his  headquarters 
were  reported  to  be  at  Harrisonburg,  with  his  cavalry 
moving  toward  Staunton.  On  Thursday,  the  25th,  and 
Friday,  the  26th,  reconnoissances  were  made  by  our  cav- 
alry to  discover  the  enemy's  position.  On  the  former  day 
General  Torbert  advanced  on  our  right  up  the  Winchester 
pike,  coming  in  contact  with  the  enemy  in  force  near 
Leetown,  a  portion  of  his  force  narrowly  escaping  cap- 
ture, being  flanked  by  the  rebel  infantry.  A  running 
fight  was  maintained  until  night,  our  troops  falling  back 
to  a  safe  position  between  Shepardstown  and  Harper's 
Ferry,  with  a  loss  estimated  at  between  one  and  two  hun- 
dred. On  the  following  day,  Friday,  the  26th,  General 
Crook,  on  the  left,  ordered  out  Wells'  brigade  of  Thorburu's 
division.  Here  the  enemy  developed  little  strength,  giving 
way  before  our  forces  with  the  loss  of  a  hundred  prisoners, 
most  of  whom  were  captured  by  Colonel  Lowell,  of  the 
second  Massachusetts  cavalr3^  On  Saturday,  Torbert  en- 
countered, near  Luray,  the  enemy's  cavalry,  who  were 
trying  to  operate  in  our  rear.  A  sharp  engagement  fol- 
lowed, the  enemy  being  driven  up  the  valley,  with  the  loss 


90  LIFE    OF    MAJOR-GENERAL    SHERIDAN. 

of  seventy-four  prisoners,  besides  his  killed  and  wounded. 
Xext  day  Torbert's  cavalry  joined  Sheridan  beyond  New 
Market,  and  started  on  to  Staunton,  It  was  estimated 
that  the  enem3'-'s  loss  in  prisoners  during  all  the  recent 
engagements,  reached  five  thousand,  while  his  killed  and 
wounded  amounted  to  three  thousand.  Our  entire  loss 
was  probably  not  greater  than  four  thousand. 

As  the  result  of  this  reconnoissance,  the  enemy  were 
discovered  to  have  left  our  front,  and  on  the  morning  of 
Sunday,  the  28th,  General  Sheridan  was  on  the  march, 
with  his  cavalry  in  advance,  carefully  reconnoitering  in 
various  directions.  The  enemy  were  found,  however, 
near  Smithfield,  five  or  six  miles  to  the  southwest,  by 
General  Merritt,  who  attacked  the  rebel  cavalry  vigorously, 
driving  them  through  the  town  and  beyond  Opequan 
creek,  where  he  came  in  contact  with  infantry.  General 
Custer's  brigade  of  cavalry,  v/ith  Ransom's  battery,  were 
moved  across  the  creek  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  recon- 
noissance toward  Bunker  Hill.  But  after  an  encounter 
with  the  enemy's  skirmish  line,  they  retired  across  the 
stream,  followed  by  infantry,  who  attempted  to  outflank 
them.  Our  cavalry  accordingly  fell  back  upon  Smithfield 
in  season  to  escape  the  movement.  Here  they  were  met 
by  General  Rickett's  division  of  infantry,  before  whose 
advance  the  enemy  found  it  prudent  rapidly  to  withdraw. 
Our  loss  in  this  affair  was  less  than  one  hundred,  including 
Dr.  Rulison,  medical  director  on  General  Torbert's  staff. 
Lieutenant  Hoyer  of  the  first  regular  cavalry  was  also 
killed.     Some  prisoners  were  captured  by  our  cavalry, 

PORT  REPUBLIC. 

On  retreating  from  Mount  Jackson,  Early  paused  at 
the  point  wliere  the  battle  of  New  Market  Hill  was  fought 
by  Sigel.     But  he  soon  abandoned  the  place,  and  retreated 


LIFE   OF    MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN'.  91 

on  Port  Republic,  and  thence  to  Brown's  gap.  Tliis 
latter  point  was  now  held  by  him  in  force.  It  is  in  the 
Blue  Ridge,  eight  miles  southeast  of  Port  Republic, 
twenty  miles  east  of  Staunton,  and  fifteen  northeast  of 
Waynesboro'.  Sheridan  pursued  to  Port  Republic,  de- 
stroying seventy-five  wagons  and  four  caissons.  From 
Harrisonburg,  Torbert,  with  Wilson's  cavalry  division 
and  one  brigade  of  Merritt's,  marched  to  Staunton,  which 
he  entered  at  8  a.  m.,  of  Monday  the  26th,  and  there 
destroyed  a  large  quantity  of  the  enemy's  property  of 
various  kinds.  Thence  he  marched  southeasterly  to 
Waynesboro',  threw  the  iron  bridge  over  the  South  river 
at  that  point,  into  the  river,  and  destroyed  the  bridge  over 
Christiana  Creek,  and  the  railroad  from  Staunton  to 
Waynesboro.'  At  Waynesboro'  other  government  property 
was  destroyed.  But  finding  the  tunnel  defended  by 
troops,  Torbert  retired  to  Harrisonburg  by  way  of 
Staunton.  Large  supplies  of  forage  and  grain  were 
found  between  Harrisonburg  and  Staunton,  which  passed 
from  the  enemy's  possession  to  ours. 

These  movements,  however,  were  not  made  without 
fighting.  Some  shelling  and  skirmishing  in  the  vicinity 
of  Port  Republic,  between  General  Merritt  and  the  enemy 
occurred  on  the  26th.  At  the  same  time,  Powell,  com- 
manding Averill's  old  division,  pressed  on  towards  Staun- 
ton. Both  Merritt  and  Powell  then  attempted  to  carry 
Brown's  gap,  but  were  repulsed,  and  fell  rapidly  back, 
the  former  remaining  at  night  near  Port  Republic,  and 
the  latter  at  Weyer's  Cave. 

OFFICIAL    DESPATCHES. 

"Near  Berryville,  t  p.  m.,  September  13,  1864. 
''Lieutenant-General  Grant,  City  Point: 

''This  morning,  I  sent  General  Getty's  division  of.  the 
sixth  corps,  with  two  brigades  of  cavalry,  to  the  crossing 


92  LIFE    OF   MAJOR-GEXERAL    SHERIDAN. 

of  the  Summit  Point  and  Winchester  road  over  the  Ope- 
quan  creek,  to  develop  the  force  of  the  enemy  at  the 
crossing  in  that  vicinity.  Rhodes',  Ramseur's,  Gordon's, 
and  Wharton's  divisions  were  found  on  the  west  bank. 
At  the  same  time,  Generals  Wilson  and  Mcintosh's 
brigades  of  cavalry  dashed  up  the  Winchester  pike,  drove 
the  rebel  cavalry  at  a  run,  came  in  contact  with  Kershaw's 
division,  charged  it,  and  captured  the  eighth  South  Caro- 
lina regiment,  sixteen  of&cers  and  one  hundred  and  forty- 
five  men,  and  its  battle-flag,  and  Colonel  Hennegan,  com- 
manding brigade,  with  a  loss  of  only  two  men  killed  and 
two  wounded.  Great  credit  is  due  to  Generals  Wilson 
and  Mcintosh,  the  third  iS'ew  Jersey  and  second  Ohio. 
The  charge  was  a  gallant  one.  A  portion  of  the  second 
Massachusetts  reserve  brigade  made  a  charge  on  the 
right  of  the  line,  and  captured  one  officer  and  eleven  men 
of  Gordon's  division  of  infantry.  Our  loss  in  the  recon- 
noissance  is  very  light. 

"P.  H.  Sheridan,  Major- General. ^^ 


"Winchester,  Ya.,  September  19,  1864 — 1:30  p.  m. 
"  Lieutenant-General  U.  S.  Grant  : 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  report  that  I  attacked  the  forces 
of  General  Early,  over  the  Berryville  pike,  at  the  crossing 
of  Opequan  creek,  and  after  a  most  stubborn  and  san- 
guinary engagement,  which  lasted  from  early  in  the 
morning  until  five  o'clock  in  the  evening,  completely  de- 
feated him,  driving  him  through  Winchester,  capturing 
about  two  thousand  five  hundred  prisoners,  five  pieces  of 
artillery,  nine  army  flags,  and  most  of  their  wounded. 
The  rebel  Generals  Rhodes  and  Gordon  were  killed,  and 
three  other  general  officers  were  wounded.  Most  of 
the  enemy's  wounded  and  all  their  killed  fell  into 
our  hands.  Our  losses  are  severe.  Among  them  is 
General  D.  A.  Russell,  commanding  a  division  of  the 
sixth  corps,  who  was  killed  by  a  cannon  ball.  Generals 
Upton,  Mcintosh,  and  Chapman,  were  wounded.  I  can- 
not tell  our  losses.  The  conduct  of  the  officers  and  men 
was  most  superb.  They  charged  and  carried  every  posi- 
tion taken  up  by  the  rebels  from  Opequan  creek  to  Win- 
chester. 


LIFE    OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SIIERIDAX.  98 

*'  The  rebels  were  strong  in  numbers,  and  very  obsti- 
nate in  fighting.  I  desire  to  mention  to  the  Lieutenant- 
General  eommauding  the  army,  the  gallant  conduct  of 
Generals  Wright,  Crook,  Emory,  Torbert,  and  the  officers 
and  men  under  their  command.  To  them  the  country  is 
indebted  for  this  handsome  victory.  A  more  detailed  re- 
port will  be  forwarded. 

"P.  H.  Sheridan, 

''Major -General  Commanding.''^ 


"  War  DepartiAient,  Washington, 
''Tuesday,  September  26,  1864—12  M. 


} 


"  Major-General  John  A.  Dix  : 

"  The  following  despatch  has  just  been  received,  giving 
further  particulars  of  Sheridan's  great  victory.  A  salute 
of  one  hundred  guns  has  just  been  given  : 

"  Harper's  Ferry,  Tuesday,  Sept.  20,  1864 — 11:40  a.  m. 
"  Hon.  E.  M.  Stanton  : 

"Just  received,  the  following  official  from  General 
Sheridan,  dated  1  A.  m.  to-day. 

"  General  :  We  fought  Early  from  daylight  till  be- 
tween six  and  seven  p.  m.  We  drove  him  from  Ope- 
quan  creek  through  Winchester  and  beyond  the  town. 
We  captured  two  thousand  five  hundred  to  three  thousand 
prisoners,  five  pieces  of  artillery,  nine  battle-flags,  and  all 
the  rebel  wounded  and  dead. 

"  Their  wounded  in  Winchester  amount  to  some  three 
thousand.  We  lost  in  killed.  General  David  Russell,  com- 
manding a  division  of  the  sixth  army  corps,  and  wounded, 
Generals  Chapman,  Mcintosh,  and  Upton.  The  rebels 
lost  in  killed  the  following  general  officers  :  General 
Rhodes,  General  Wharton,  General  Gordon,  and  General 
Ramseur. 

"  We  have  just  sent  them  whirling  through,  Winchester, 
and  we  are  after  them  to-morrow.  This  army  behaved 
splendidly.  I  am  sending  forw^ard  all  the  medical  sup- 
plies, subsistence  stores,  and  ambulances. 

"  Jno.  D.  Stevenson,  Brigadier- General. 
"  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  War.'''' 


94  LIFE    OF    MAJOR-GEXERAL   SHERIDAN. 

"War  Department,  Washington,) 
''Monday,  Septemher^'y),  1864— T  P.  M.     j" 
*'To  Major-General  Dix,  New  York: 

"  The  following  is  the  latest  intelligence  received  from 
General  Sheridan  : 

**  Harper's  Ferry,  Ya.,  Monday,  Sept.  20,  1864—8  p.  m. 
*'  Hon.  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  War  : 

*'  The  body  of  General  Russell  has  arrived.  As  soon  as 
it  is  embalmed,  it  will  be  forwarded  to  New  York.  Gen- 
eral Mcintosh,  with  his  leg  amputated,  has  just  come  in, 
and  is  in  good  spirits. 

"  Several  officers  from  the  front  report  the  number  of 
prisoners  in  excess  of  three  thousand. 

"  The  number  of  battle-flags  captured  was  fifteen,  in- 
stead of  nine. 

"All  concur  that  it  was  a  complete  rout.  Our  cavalry- 
started  in  pursuit  at  daylight  this  morning.  Sheridan, 
when  last  heard  from,  was  at  Kearnstown.  I  sent  for- 
ward this  morning  ample  medical  supplies.  Full  subsis- 
tence for  the  entire  army  goes  forward.  If  you  do  not 
hear  from  me  often,  it  will  be  because  of  the  distance  we 
are  from  the  scene  of  action,  and  because  I  only  send  you 
such  information  as  I  esteem  reliable. 

"John  B.  Richardson,  Brigadier- General. 

"  The  President  has  appointed  General  Sheridan  a 
brigadier  in  the  regular  army,  and  assigned  him  to  the 
permanent  command  of  the  middle  military  division. 

"  General  Grant  has  ordered  the  army  under  his  com- 
mand to  fire  a  salute  of  one  hundred  guns  at  seven 
o'clock  to-morrow  morning  in  honor  of  Sheridan's  great 
victory.  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  War.''^ 


"  War  Department,  Washington,     ") 
"  September  21,  1864--10:15  a.m.   j 
"To  Major-General  John  A.  Dix  : 

"This  Department  has  just  received  the  following  tele- 
gram, announcing  the  continued  pursuit  of  the  rebels  by 
General  Sheridan.  Cedar  creek,  which  General  Sheridan 
was  crossing  yesterday  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
is  a  short  distance  this  side  of  Strasburg.  He  had  pur- 
sued the  rebels  over  thirty  miles  from  the  point  where  he 
first  attacked  them  at  daylight  on  Monday: 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL  SHERIDAN.  95 

"  Harper's  Ferry,  September  21,  1864. 
"Hon.  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  War: 

"  Reliable  news  from  the  front  states  that  our  army  was 
crossing  Cedar  creek  yesterday  at  three  p  M.  There  was 
no  fiprhtino'. 

"  The  following  list  of  rebel  generals  killed  and  wounded 
is  correct :  Generals  Rhodes,  Ramseur,  Gordon,  Terry, 
Goodwin,  Bradley  Johnson,  and  Fitz  Hugh  Lee. 

"  From  all  I  can  learn,  the  number  of  prisoners  will 
approximate  to  five  thousand. 

"  The  indications  are  that  the  rebels  will  not  make  a 
stand  short  of  Staunton.  They  are  evidently  too  much 
demoralized  to  make  a  fight. 

*  "  John  D.  Stevenson,  Brigadier- General. 

"  General  Grant  transmits  the  following  extract  from  the 
Richmond  Sentinel  of  yesterday  : — 

"  The  Richmond  Sentinel  of  the  20th,  has  the  follow- 
ing : 

"A  slight  ripple  of  excitement  was  produced  here  yes- 
terday, by  the  report  that  a  raiding  party  was  advancing 
on  Gordonsville,  and  were  within  a  few  miles  of  that  place. 
The  result  of  all  our  inquiries  on  this  head  is  that  this 
report  originated  in  the  fact  that  early  yesterday  a  party 
of  Yankee  raiders,  whose  numbers  are  not  known,  visited 
Rapidan  bridge,  and  after  destroying  it,  proceeded  to 
Liberty  Mills,  five  or  six  miles  above,  which  they  also  de- 
stroyed. From  this  latter  place  they  are  believed  to  have 
gone  back  to  Culpepper. 

"Edwin  M.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  War." 


"War  Department,  Washington,  J).  C,   \ 
"  September  26,  1864—10:30  A.  m.        j 

"  Despatches  from  General  Sheridan  up  to  eleven  o'clock 
on  Saturday  night,  dated  six  miles  south  of  New  Market, 
have  been  received.  He  had  driven  the  enemy  from 
Mount  Jackson,  without  being  able  to  bring  on  an  engage- 
ment. The  enemy  were  moving  rapidly,  and  he  had  no 
cavalry  present  to  hold  them. 

"General  Torbert  had  attacked  Wickham's  force  at  Luray, 
and  captured  a  number  of  prisoners. 

"General  Sheridan  found  rebel  hospitals  in  all  the  towns 
from  Winchester  to  New  Market,  and  was  eighty  miles 


96  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

from  Martinsburg.  Twenty  pieces  of  artillery  were  cap- 
tured at  Fisher's  Hill,  together  with  eleven  hundred  pris- 
oners, a  large  amount  of  ammunition,  caissons,  limbers, 
&c.,  and  a  large  quantity  of  intrenching  tools,  small  arms, 
and  debris.  Xo  list  of  the  captured  'material  has  yet  been 
received. 

"  The  small  towns  through  the  valley  have  a  great  many 
of  the  rebel  wounded. 

"  General  Stevenson  reports  the  arrival  at  Harper's 
Ferry  of  a  train  of  our  wounded,  twenty  captured  guns, 
and  eighty  additional  captured  officers. 

"Edwin  M.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  TFar." 


"Harrisonburg,  Ya.,  September  29,  1864 — Y:30  p.  m. 
"  Lieutenant- General  TJ.  S.  Grant,  City  Point: 

"  In  my  last  despatch,  I  informed  you  that  I  pressed 
Early  so  closely  through  New  Market,  at  the  same  time 
sending  cavalry  around  his  flank,  that  he  gave  up  the 
valley  and  took  to  the  mountains,  passing  through  Brown's 
gap.  I  kept  up  the  pursuit  to  Port  Republic,  destroying 
seventy-five  wagons,  and  four  caissons.  I  sent  General 
Torbert,  who  overtook  me  at  Harrisonburg,  to  Staunton, 
with  Wilson's  division  of  cavalry,  and  one  brigade  of 
Merritt's.  Torbert  entered  Staunton  on  the  26th,  and 
destroyed  a  large  quantity  of  rebel  government  property, 
harness,  saddles,  small  arms,  hard  bread,  flour,  repair 
shops,  &c. 

"  He  then  proceeded  to  Waynesboro',  destroying  the 
iron  bridge  over  the  south  branch  of  the  Shenandoah,  seven 
miles  of  the  track,  the  depot  buildings,  a  government  tan- 
nery, and  a  large  amount  of  leather,  flour,  &c.,  at  that 
place.  He  found  the  tunnel  defended  by  infantry,  and 
retired  via  Staunton. 

"  It  is  my  impression  that  most  of  the  troops  which 
Early  had  left  passed  through  the  mountains  to  Charlottes- 
ville ;  that  Kershaw's  division  came  to  his  assistance,  and 
T  think,  passed  along  the  west  base  of  the  mountains  to 
Waynesboro'. 

"  I  am  getting  from  twenty- five  to  forty  prisoners  daily, 
who  come  from  the  mountains  on  each  side  and  deliver 
themselves  up. 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL  SHERIDAN..  97 


t 


"From  the  most  reliable  accounts,  Early's  army  was 
completely  broken  up,  and  is  dispirited. 

"Kershaw  had  not  reached  Richmond,  but  was  some- 
where in  the  vicinity  of  Gordonsville,  whe-n  he  received 
orders  to  rejoin  Early. 

"  The  destruction  of  the  grain  and  forage  from  here  to 
Staunton  will  be  a  terrible  blow  to  them. 

"All  the  grain,  forage,  etc.,  in  the  vicinity  of  Staunton, 
was  retained  for  the  use  of  Early's  army.  AH  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  valley  was  shipped  to  Richmond  for  the  use 
of  Lee's  army. 

"  The  country  from  here  to  Staunton  was  abundantly 
supplied  with  forage,  grain,  etc. 

"  {Signed,)        P.  H.  Sheridan,  Major- General. ^^ 


"Harrisonburg,  Va.,  September  26,  1864 — 7  p.  m. 
"  Lieutenant- General  Grant  : 

"  I  see  it  going  the  rounds  of  the  papers  that  the  nine- 
teenth corps  was  late  in  coming  to  the  battle  of  Winches- 
ter. I  was  entirely  unconscious  of  this  until  I  saw  it  in 
the  papers.  The  statement  was  made  by  R.  L.  Shelby. 
I  wish  to  say  that  it  was  incorrect,  and  that  this  corre- 
spondent was  arrested  by  my  order  on  a  previous  occasion 
for  writing  untruthful  accounts. 

"P.  H.  Sheridan,  Major-General.''^ 

On  the  2d  of  October,  1864,  the  enemy  advanced  on  our 
picket  forces  at  Waynesboro',  and,  after  a  sharp  skirmish, 
captured  about  fifty  men  of  the  third  New  Jersey.  Some 
of  these  were  subsequently  retaken.  The  same  day, 
our  pickets  at  the  bridge  near  Mount  Crawford  were  at- 
tacked, and  a  heavy  cannonade  was  kept  up  until  the  enemy 
desisted.  On  the  6th,  Sheridan  commenced  to  move  back 
his  command.  The  enemy  promptly  took  the  alarm,  and 
on  the  8th  there  was  a  brisk  skirmishing  between  the 
enemy's  cavalry  under  Rosser  and  ours  under  Merritt  and 
Custer.  Both  parties  had  recourse,  chiefly,  however,  to 
their  artillery.  The  next  day,  the  9th,  our  forces  being 
now  near  Fisher's  Hill,  Torbert  was  ordered  to  drive  back 
the  enemy  from  our  rear.     Merritt  on  the  right,  along  the 


98  jrjFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

Winchester  turnpike,  and  Custer  on  the  left,  advanced  at 
daylight  and  routed  the  enemy,  capturing  the  spoils  which 
General  Sheridan  sets  forth  in  his  despatches. 

"Woodstock,  Ya.,  October  7,  1864 — 9  p.  3I. 
"  Lieutenant-General  U.  S.  Grant  : 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  report  my  command  at  this  point 
to-night.  I  commenced  moving  back  from  Port  Republic, 
Mount  Crawford,  Bridgewater  and  Harrisonburg,  yes- 
terdaj^  morning. 

"The  grain  and  forage  in  advance  of  these  points,  had 
previously  been  destroyed. 

*'  In  moving  back  to  this  point,  the  whole  country,  from 
the  Blue  Ridge  to  the  North  Mountain,  has  been  made 
entirely  untenable  for  a  rebel  army. 

"  I  have  destroved  over  two  thousand  barns  filled  with 
wheat  and  hay  and  farming  implements,  over  seventy 
mills  filled  with  flour  and  wheat ;  have  driven  in  front  of 
the  army  over  four  thousand  head  of  stock,  and  have 
killed  and  issued  to  the  troops,  not  less  than  three  thou- 
sand sheep. 

"  This  destruction  embraces  the  Luray  valley  and  Little 
Fort  vallev,  as  well  as  the  main  vallev. 

"  A  large  number  of  horses  have  been  obtained,  a  proper 
estimate  of  which  I  cannot  now  make. 

"  Lieutenant  John  R.  Meigs,  my  engineer  officer,  was 
murdered  beyond  Harrisonburg,  near  Dayton.  For  this 
atrocious  act,  all  the  houses  within  an  area  of  five  miles 
were  burned. 

"  Since  I  came  into  the  valley  from  Harper's  Ferry, 
every  train,  every  small  party,  and  every  straggler,  has 
been  bushwhacked  by  the  people,  many  of  whom  have 
protection  passes  from  commanders  who  have  been  hitherto 
in  that  valley. 

"  The  people  here  are  getting  sick  of  the  war.  Hereto- 
fore, they  have  had  no  reason  to  complain,  because  they 
have  been  living  in  great  abundance. 

"  I  have  not  been  followed  by  the  enemy  to  this  point, 
with  the  exception  of  a  small  force  of  the  rebel  cavalry, 
that  showed  themselves  some  distance  behind  my  rear- 
guard to-day. 

"A  party  of  one  hundred  of  the  eighth  Ohio  cavalry, 


LIFE   or    :^lAJOIi-GEXEKAL   SHERIDAN.  99 

which  I  had  Btationed  at  the  bridge  over  the  North  Shen- 
andoah, near  Mount  Jackson,  was  attacked  by  McNeil, 
with  seventeen  men,  while  they  were  asleep,  and  the  whole 
party  dispersed  or  captured.  I  think  they  will  all  turn 
up.  I  learn  that  fifty-six  of  them  had  reached  Winchester. 
McNeil  was  mortally  wounded,  and  fell  into  our  hands. 
This  was  fortunate,  as  he  was  the  most  daring  and  dan- 
gerous of  all  the  bushwhackers  in  this  section  of  the 
country.  P.  H.  Sheridan,  Major- GeneraV 


"Strasburg,  Ya.,  Midnight,  October  9,  1864. 
"  To  Lieutenant-General  Grant,  City  Point  : 

"  In  coming  back  to  this  point,  I  was  not  followed  up 
until  late  yesterday,  when  a  large  force  of  cavalry  appeared 
in  my  rear.  I  then  halted  my  command  to  offer  battle  by 
attacking  the  enemy.  I  became  satisfied  that  it  was  only 
all  the  rebel  cavalry  of  the  valley,  commanded  by  Kosser, 
and  directed  Torbert  to  attack  at  daylight  this  morning, 
and  finish  this  '  Saviour  of  the  Yalley.'  The  attack  was 
handsomely  made.  Custer,  commanding  the  third  cav- 
alry division,  charged  on  the  back  road,  and  Merritt, 
commanding  the  first  cavalry  division,  on  the  Strasburg 
pike.  Merritt  captured  five  pieces  of  artillery.  Custer 
captured  six  pieces  of  artillery,  with  caissons,  battery 
forge,  &c.  The  two  divisions  captured  forty-seven  wagons, 
ambulances,  &c.  Among  the  wagons  captured,  are  the 
headquarters  w^agons  of  Rosser,  Lomax,  Wickham,  and 
Colonel  Pollard.  The  number  of  prisoners  will  be  about 
three  hundred  and  thirty. 

"  The  enemy,  after  being  charged  by  our  gallant  cavalry, 
were  broken  and  ran.  They  were  followed  by  our  men 
on  the  jump  twenty-six  miles,  through  Mount  Jackson 
and  across  the  north  fork  of  the  Shenandoah.  I  deem  it 
best  to  make  this  delay  of  one  day  here,  and  settle  this 
new  cavalry  general. 

"  The  eleven  pieces  of  artillery  captured  to-day,  make 
thirty-six  pieces  captured  in  the  Shenandoah  valley  since 
the  19th  of  September.  Some  of  the  artillery  was  new, 
and  never  had  been  fired.  The  pieces  were  marked 
'  Tredegar  Works. ' 

"P.  H.  Sheridan,  Major- GeneraV^ 


100  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAX. 

CONGRATULATION    TO    THE    CAVALRY. 

"  Headquarters  Cavalry  Corps,  Middle") 
"Military  Division,  October  11,  1864.) 
"  General  Orders  No.  13. 

"  The  chief  of  cavalry  desires  to  congratulate  the  officers 
and  men  of  the  cavalry  of  the  middle  military  division  for 
their  unparalleled  successes  since  the  beginning  of  the 
campaign  in  the  valley  of  the  Shenandoah. 

"  You  have  been  called  upon  to  endure  many  privations 
and  hardships,  and  they  have  been  borne  with  that  heroic 
fortitude  so  necessary  to  insure  to  you  the  victories  which 
have  crowned  your  efforts. 

"  In  the  battle  of  the  19th  of  September  you  not  alone 
routed  the  enemy's  cavalry,  but  gallantly  charged  their  in- 
fantry, broke  their  lines,  and  captured  many  hundred 
prisoners,  nine  colors,  and  three  guns.  This  success, 
followed  by  fatiguing  marches,  and  harassing  skirmishes 
and  reconnoissances  with  an  ever  vigilant  foe,  and 
crowned  by  your  unprecedented  achievements  on  the  9th 
of  October,  when,  having  broken  the  entire  body  of  their 
cavalry,  you  chased  their  routed  columns  over  twenty 
miles,  capturing  eleven  pieces  of  artillery,  two  colors, 
many  prisoners,  and  their  entire  train,  is  a  record  which, 
by  the  blessing  of-  God,  has  contributed  much  to  the  re- 
nown of  our  arms  and  the  success  of  our  cause. 

"  By  command  of         Brevet  Major-General  Torbert. 

"  Wm.  Russell,  Jr.,  Major  and  A.  A.  6^." 

"  Headquarters  Middle  Military  Division,') 

''October  14,  1864.]" 

"  The  following  has  been  received,  and  is  published  for 
the  information  of  the  army  : 

"  War  Department,  Washington,  October  12 — 8  p.  m. 
"  Major-General  Sheridan  : 

"The  Department  tenders  its  thanks  to  you,  and 
through  you  to  Major-General  Torbert,  Generals  Merritt 
and  Custer,  and  the  officers  and  soldiers  under  their  com- 
mand, for  the  brilliant  victories  on  last  Sunday  by  their 
gallantry  over  the  rebel  cavalry  in  the  Shenandoah 
valley.  Under  gallant  leaders  your  cavalry  has  become 
the  efficient  arm  in  this  country  that  it  has  proved  in  other 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GEXEKAL   SHERIDAN.  101 

countries,  and  is  winning  by  its  exploits  the  admiration 
of  the  country  and  government. 

"  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  War. 

"  By  command  of  3Iojor- General  Sheridan. 

"  C.  KiNGSBL'RY,  Jr.,  Afisistant  Adjutant- General. ^^ 


''Headquarters  Cavalry  Middle  Division,") 

"  October  U,  18B4.  > 

*■'  This  despatch  will  be  read  at  once  at  the  head  of 
every  regiment  in  this  command. 

"  By  command  of  31ajor- General  Torbert. 

"  Wm.  Russell,  Jr.,  Assistant  Adjutant-GeneraV- 

BATTLE  OF  CEDAR  CREEK. 

Soon  after  midnight  of  Tuesday,  August  18th,  Early, 
having  arranged  his  troops  unperceived  at  Eisher's  Hill, 
just  beyond  Strasburg,  moved  forward  to  the  attack. 
The  sharp  rattle  of  musketry  on  the  right,  near  the  Mid- 
dle road,  before  daylight,  made  the  camp  aware  that  our 
cavalry  pickets  were  engaged  with  the  enemy's  skir- 
mishers. But  the  firing  died  away,  the  movement  in  that 
quarter  being  in  fact  only  a  feint,  and  being  regarded, 
also,  as  a  demonstration  like  the  previous  one  against 
Custer's  pickets.  The  real  attack  was  to  fall  upon  our 
left.  Kershaw's  division  was  in  Early's  advance.  March- 
ing southeasterly  from  Strasburg  a  short  distance  along 
the  Manassas  gap  railroad,  Kershaw,  with  a  selected 
column,  then  turned  northerly  again  on  the  small  road 
which  crosses  the  North  Fork  by  a  ford  about  a  mile  to 
the  east  of  the  junction  of  Cedar  creek  with  that  river. 
Before  dawn  of  Wednesday,  the  19th,  he  was  across  the 
ford  and  marching  past  the  left  flank  of  Crook's  corps, 
directly  in  the  latter's  rear,  the  wdiole  manoeuvre  being 
accomplished  in  the  chilly  and  foggy  morning  without  the 
knowledge  of  our  army.  Meanwhile,  the  rest  of  Early's 
command  had  marched  straight  down  the  turnpike  from 
Strasburg  to  Cedar  creek,  with  equal  silence  and  celerity, 


102  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

and,  like  the  flanking  column,  without  alarming  our  pickets 
or  officers  of  the  day. 

His  positions  being  gained,  close  upon  our  picket  line, 
the  enemy,  just  before  daybreak,  rushed  to  the  attack. 
So  well  protected  was  this  flank  with  earthworks  carrying 
artillery,  that  little  fear  had  been  entertained  for  it.  But 
the  enemy's  noiseless  ad^o.nce  and  successful  surprise 
counterbalanced  the  strength  of  the  defences.  Advancing 
in  columns  of  regiments,  he  swept  in  upon  Crook's  picket 
line,  and  captured  the  greater  part  of  it.  Before  the  noise 
of  the  skirmishing  had  aroused  the  camp  from  its  slumbers, 
the  enemy's  flanking  column  was  fairly  within  the  intrench- 
ments  of  the  eighth  corps,  and  was  capturing  prisoners 
in  large  numbers,  amongst  his  captures  being  the  second 
battalion  fifth  New  York  heavy  artillery,  which  was  on 
the  picket  line.  Once  inside  the  camp,  the  enemy  rushed 
to  seize  the  batteries,  and  succeeded  in  cutting  off  and 
capturing  many  pieces  of  artillery,  before  the  latter  could 
exchange  a  shot.  The  left  division  of  Crook's  corps  was 
now  thoroughly  broken  up,  and  Kitching's  provisional 
division  of  heavy  New  York  artillery,  which  lay  in 
Crook's  rear,  suffered  a  similar  calamity.  General  Crook 
and  Colonel  Kitching  endeavored  to  rally  their  commands ; 
but  the  bewilderment  of  the  troops  in  the  unexpected  at- 
tack, the  large  force  of  the  enemy,  and  his  success  in  turn- 
ing our  flank  unperceived,  showed  that  he  could  not  be 
checked  at  this  point. 

Meanwhile,  also,  Early  had  emerged  from  behind  the 
hills  west  of  Cedar  creek,  where  he  lay  concealed,  and 
simultaneously  with  the  attack  in  flank,  rushed  across  the 
creek  at  the  ford,  and  drove  back  Thorburn's  division, 
which  lay  on  the  right  of  Crook's  line,  in  front  of  the  ford 
and  against  the  turnpike.  This  combined  movement  suf- 
ficed to  complete  the  disaster.  The  entire  corps  was 
routed,  and  the  left  flank  of  the  army  turned.     Many  of 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL  SHERIDAN.  103 

the  regiments,  however,  were  rallied,  and  the  whole  com- 
mand falling  back  to  the  turnpike,  was  there  got  into  line 
again  as  rapidly  as  possible,  after  the  loss  of  many  prison- 
ers. But  the  enemy  had  now  got  all  his  artillery  in  posi- 
tion on  the  high  ridges  on  the  westerly  bank  of  the  creek, 
and,  with  accurate  range,  was  pouring  shot  and  shell  in 
great  profusion  into  both  the  eighth  and  nineteenth  corps. 
On  this  side  of  the  creek,  also,  he  continued  his  rapid  ad- 
vance, elated  at  his  success,  and  delivered  a  constant  and 
murderous  musketry  fire  into  our  recoiling  line  as  he  ad- 
vanced. He  had  soon  gained  and  passed  the  turnpike,  in 
his  march  along  our  line,  and  in  heavy  force,  charged  the 
batteries  of  the  nineteenth  corps.  His  impetuous  attack 
was  only  too  successful,  and  the  left  of  the  nineteenth 
corps  also  gave  way,  leaving  a  part  of  its  artillery  in  his 
hands.  Under  this  rapid  musketry  fire  of  the  enemy  in 
his  vigorous  advance,  joined  with  his  effective  artillery 
from  the  opposite  banks  of  the  creek,  and  the  fire  from  our 
own  batteries  which  he  had  turned  against  us,  our  left 
and  centre  were  thrown  into  confusion.  Many  prisoners 
were  captured,  and  many  casualties  occurred  in  our  ranks 
from  his  hot  fire.  All  the  trains  were  therefore  started 
in  haste  along  the  turnpike  to  Winchester,  and  escaping 
capture,  arrived  there  in  safety. 

It  was  now  broad  day,  and  it  appeared  that  our  disas- 
ters had  only  begun.  For  the  enemy,  having  succeeded 
in  rolling  up  the  left  of  the  line,  and  in  severing  Powell's 
cavalry  division  on  the  extreme  left  from  the  rest  of  the 
army,  was  now  forcing  back  the  entire  centre,  and  occu- 
pying the  intrenchments  of  the  nineteenth  corps  as  he 
had  those  of  the  eighth.  He  had  captured  a  large  part 
of  our  artillery  tilso — eighteen  pieties  thus  far — and  not 
only  deprived  us  of  these  means  of  checking  his  advance, 
but,  to  our  double  calamity,  turned  them  on  our  columns, 
materially  precipitating  the  retreat.     Nearly  all  of  his 


104  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

force  was  on  this  side  of  the  creek,  and  a  part  of  the  flank- 
ing column,  turning  off  from  the  pursuit  of  the  eighteenth 
corps,  found  itself  in  the  rear  of  Grover's  second  division 
of  the  nineteenth  corps,  which  formed  Emory's  left,  and 
held  the  right  or  northerly  side  of  the  turnpike.  Hasty 
dispositions  toward  a  change  of  front  were  made,  so  as 
to  hold  the  pike,  but  they  were  of  no  avail.  Emory  was 
flanked,  in  his  turn,  and  gave  away  to  the  rear.  The 
sixth  corps  had  been  already  ordered  over  from  its  posi- 
tion on  the  right,  and  quickly  executed  a  change  of  front, 
which  brought  it  at  right  angles  to  its  former  direction. 
Steadily  holding  this  new  line,  the  corps  was  soon  en- 
gaged in  desperate  conflict,  and,  by  its  gallantry,  served 
to  check  the  enemy's  impetuous  rush.  But,  after  all,  it 
only  availed  to  cover  the  general  retreat,  which  was  now 
ordered.  The  enemy  was  creeping  up  along  the  pike, 
and  already  approached  Middletown.  Great  efforts  were 
made  to  get  away  the  trains  of  the  two  left  corps,  and 
most  of  those  of  the  nineteenth  were  saved.  Most  of  the 
ambulance  train  of  the  eighth  corps  was  captured  during 
the  first  hour  of  the  engagement.  In  the  retreat,  and  in 
the  effort  to  cover  our  trains,  our  troops  suffered  severely 
from  the  fire  of  the  enemy,  who  pursued  closely  and  with 
great  vigor.  The  enemy  now  increased  both  his  artillery 
and  musketry  fire  to  its  utmost  capacity,  till  the  roar  and 
carnage  became  terrific.  He  still  pressed  our  left  flank, 
as  if  determined  to  drive  us  away  from  the  turnpike,  that 
he  might  seize  our  trains,  and  insert  himself  between  U3 
and  Winchester.  His  projects  were  aided  somewhat  by 
the  necessity  forced  upon  us  to  spend  much  time  in  ma- 
noeuvring to  reform  the  line,  while  he  employed  himself 
only  in  advancing  Sod  pouring  in  his  destructive  fire. 
As  be  pressed  our  left  so  much  more  hotly  than  the  right, 
the  cavalry  divisions  of  Merritt  and  Custer,  were  sent 
across  thither  from  the  right,  and  now  a  severe  contest 


LIFE   OF    MAJOR-GENERAL    SHERIDAN".  105 

took  place  near  Middletown,  in  the  thickl}'  wooded  and 
rough  country  in  which  our  left  had  found  itself. 

It  was  now  about  nine  o'clock,  and  our  troops  having 
got  into  line-of-battle  again,  were,  for  the  first  time, 
making  desperate  efibrts  to  check  the  enemy.  The  eighth 
corps  on  the  left,  and  the  sixth  in  the  centre,  were  re- 
ceiving the  brunt  of  the  fierce  onset.  Merritt  and  Custer 
had  also  taken  part  in  the  thick  of  the  battle.  Both  sides 
were  using  artillery  as  well  as  musketry,  but  the  enemy 
brought  to  bear  the  greater  weight  of  metal,  having  rein- 
forced their  own  batteries  with  our  captured  pieces.  As 
the  enemy's  troops  closed  in  on  our  own,  it  was  clear  that 
the  momentum  he  had  acquired  was  swinging  him  again 
past  our  flank.  The  flanking  column  of  the  enemy  pressed 
severely  upon  Thorburn's  division  and  other  parts  of 
Crook's  corps,  and  once  more  forced  it  back.  The  sixth 
corps  held  its  ground  well,  but  the  whole  line  was  giving 
away,  and  the  enemy  gained  Middletown.  He  continued 
to  press  us  back  toward  Stephensburg  or  Newtown, 
which  lies  next  below  Middletown,  on  the  turnpike,  and 
about  five  miles  distant  therefrom.  His  artillery  was 
served  with  accuracy  from  the  heights  north  of  Middle- 
town,  which  we  had  just  vacated.  Our  principal  aim 
henceforth  was  to  successfully  cover  our  trains  and  to 
draw  away  the  army  with  as  little  loss  as  possible  to 
Newtown,  when  another  stand  might  be  made,  for  General 
Wright  had  by  no  means  despaired  of  the  day. 

ARmVAL  OF  GENERAL   SHERIDAN— THE 

TIDE  TURNED. 

At  this  time,  about  half-past  ten  o'clock,  Sheridan 
rode  upon  the  field  from  AVinchester,  where  news  of  the 
battle  had  reached  hiui.  He  had  come  in  at  great  speed, 
being  well  assured  by  the  sight  that  met  him  on  the  road 
that   his  presence  was  needed   at  the  earliest  momeut. 


106  LIFE   OF    MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

His  arrival  created  great  enthusiasm  amongst  both  officers 
and  men,  to  whom,  in  the  general  gloom,  this  was  a  ray 
of  hope.  He  rode  along  the  ranks,  and  was  received 
everywhere  with  cheers.  A  temporary  pause  in  the 
enemy's  pursuit,  and  our  own  withdrawal  from  his  fire, 
facilitated  greatly  the  preparations  to  resist  any  further 
advance.  These  were  promptly  undertaken,  just  south 
of  Newtown,  between  the  latter  point  and  Middletown. 
The  line  was  left  as  Wright  had  formed  it,  except  that 
one  cavalry  division,  Custer's,  was  sent  across  to  cover 
the  right  flank,  where  it  was  before  the  battle. 

The  lull  in  the  fierce  fighting  which  had  commenced 
soon  after  our  retreat  to  Newtown  and  Sheridan's  oppor- 
tune arrival,  soon  after  noon  came  to  an  end.  The  enemy, 
having  got  his  artillery  up  into  range  of  our  new  position, 
now  opened  it  with  new  vigor.  About  one  o'clock,  his 
troops  were  well  in  hand  again,  and  once  more  came  up 
on  the  charge.  But  this  time  he  was  doomed  to  disap- 
pointment. Our  lines  were  ready,  and,  after  a  long  and 
desperate  struggle,  repulsed  him  handsomely,  and  even 
followed  him  back  for  a  short  distance.  General  Bidwell 
was  killed  and  General  G rover  wounded,  in  this  renewal 
of  the  heavy  engagement.  From  two  o'clock  till  three 
there  was  no  advance  of  importance  on  either  side.  In- 
cessant cannonading  and  the  rattle  of  musketry  filled  up 
the  hour ;  but  all  attempts  of  the  enemy  to  force  us  back 
were  fruitless. 

About  three  o'clock,  Sheridan  determined  to  make  a 
grand  effort  to  throw  the  enemy  out  of  Middletown,  which, 
up  to  that  time,  he  held,  and  once  more  to  regain  our  camp 
at  Cedar  creek.  The  sixth  corps  was  drawn  up  in  the 
centre,  along  the  pike,  with  Getty's  second  division  in 
advance.  The  other  divisions  supported.  The  eighth 
corps  was  re-formed  on  the  left  of  the  sixth,  and  the  nine- 
teenth came  up  on  its  right,  under  cover  of  the  woods. 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  107 

Merritt's  first  cavalry  division  was  thrown  out  on  the  left 
flank,  with  Lowell's  brigade  in  advance,  and  Deven  fol- 
lowing closely.  Custer  was  on  the  right  flank.  Between 
three  and  four  o'clock,  Getty  dashed  forward  on  the 
charge,  and  the  remainder  of  the  line  followed.  A  tre- 
mendous fire  of  artillery  and  musketry  greeted  our  troops 
as  they  burst  out  of  the  woods.  For  a  time  it  seemed 
impossible  to  withstand  it.  Our  lines  once  surged  back, 
broken,  but  were  again  re-formed,  and,  while  such  of  our 
own  batteries  as  remained,  answered  the  enemy  with  vigor 
and  effect,  the  gallant  troops  again  pressed  on.  Despite 
determined  and  bloody  resistance,  they  carried  the  town, 
and  drove  the  discomfited  enemy  through  it.  This  was 
the  crisis  of  the  day,  and  from  that  moment  victory  was 
ours.  The  enemy  at  once  began  his  retreat,  and  it  was 
only  a  question  how  far  our  men  would  have  strength 
enough  to  pursue  him,  and  what  spoil  he  would  leave  in 
our  hands.  In  this  last  charge  fell  the  gallant  Colonel 
Lowell,  who  had  greatly  distinguished  himself  during  this 
Shenandoah  campaign.  His  brigade  also  behaved  very 
handsomely  during  the  present  battle. 

The  sixth  and  nineteenth  corps  and  the  cavalry  now 
pressed  the  enemy  from  Middletown  to  Cedar  creek.  In 
his  haste  he  threw  away  guns,  haversacks,  clothing,  and 
other  debris  of  a  routed  army.  No  time  was  given  him 
to  pause.  The  infantry  were  thrown  rapidly  into  column 
for  the  pursuit,  and  the  cavalry  charged  across  the  open 
fields.  At  Cedar  creek  the  enemy  attempted  at  last  to 
hold  us  in  check,  and  planted  his  batteries  on  the  opposite 
banks,  to  hold  the  bridge  and  fords.  But  our  forces 
pressed  on,  carried  the  fords  and  bridge,  and  drove  him 
from  the  creek  through  Strasburg  to  Fisher's  Hill.  The 
cavalry  distinguished*  itself  in  getting  across  the  creek 
under  fire.  The  briskness  of  the  pursuit  caused  the 
enemy  to  abandon  large  quantities  of  cannon,  caissons, 


108  LIFE    OF   MAJOK-GEXEEAL   SHERIDAN". 

and  wagons,  and  threw  his  whole  rear  into  confusion.  In 
fact  our  troops  had  now  a  fair  offset  for  their  own  defeat 
in  the  morning,  and  the  enemy  was  put  to  flight  in  quite 
as  much  rapidity  and  disorganization  as  he  had  visited 
upon  us  at  daybreak,  and  witn  much  greater  loss  of  mate- 
rial. The  desperately  resisted  but  successful  charge  at 
Middletown  was,  in  fact,  the  turning  point  of  the  day. 
The  enemy  was  put  to  flight,  and  all  that  was  required 
was  to  pursue,  and  pick  up  prisoners  and  spoils.  The 
hard  fighting  was  over,  and  the  loss  which  followed  fell 
upon  the  enemy.  The  cavalry  proved  now  of  great 
assistance,  and  the  enemy,  in  his  haste  to  get  away,  aban- 
doned all  the  cannon  he  had  captured  and  much  of  his 
own.  Our  camp  equipage  fell  into  our  hands  again,  and 
in  fact,  at  each  step  the  cavalry  found  cannon,  caissons, 
small  arms,  or  other  material,  and  prisoners  ready  to  be 
captured  without  a  struggle. 

From  the  arrival  of  Sheridan  and  the  turn  of  the  tide, 
.we  gained  back  nearly  all  that  had  been  lost — except  the 
prisoners  and  the  small  amount  destroyed  or  carried  off  by 
the  enemy — and  captured  still  more  than  we  had  lost. 
The  most  accurate  estimate  gives  our  total  captures  and 
re-captures  as  follows : — tw^elve  hundred  men,  sixty-four 
oflScers,  forty-eight  cannon,  forty  caissons,  three  battery 
wagons,  three  hundred  and  ninety-eight  horses  and  mules, 
with  harness,  sixty-five  ambulances,  fifty  wagons,  fifteen 
thousand  rounds  of  artillery  ammunition,  fifteen  hundred 
and  eighty  smaU  arms,  many  medical  stores  of  the  enemy, 
besides  our  own,  ten  battle  flags,  and  some  smaller  cap- 
tures of  stores.  One  of  the  enemy's  papers,  admitting 
the  defeat,  savs  : 

"All  of  the  camp  equipage  captured  on  the  creek  in  the 
morning  was  retaken  by  the  enemy,  and  at  Strasburg  the 
captured  artillery  becoming,  by  the  demoralization  of  the 
drivers,  mixed  up  in  the  street  with  some  ten  or  twelve 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  109 

pieces  of  our  own,  the  whole  of  it  was  abandoned.  The 
prisoners  we  had  taken,  the  most  useless  and  unaccept- 
able of  our  captures,  were  alone  left  to  us  as  trophies  of 
the  morning.  By  night  our  army  was  in  New  Market, 
worn  with  fatigue,  and  perplexed  and  mortified  with  the 
results  of  the  day's  operation,  but  growing  cheerful  by 
degrees,  and  sanguine  of  '  better  luck  the  next  time.' 
Our  loss  in  men  was  not  heavy.  In  this  respect  there  is 
some  consolation  in  knowing  that  the  enemy  suffered  by 
far  the  heavier.  In  the  morning's  operations  the  slaughter 
of  the  enemy  is  represented  as  having  been  very  great." 

A  part  of  our  infantry  reached  Strasburg,  but  the  main 
army  bivouacked  in  the  old  camp  along  Cedar  creek. 
The  cavalry  dashed  through  Strasburg  to  Fisher's  Hill, 
and  there  stopped  the  victorious  march.  Wright  having 
fallen,  we  pursued  only  three  or  four  miles  beyond  the  old 
camp  ground. 

It  was  on  the  decisive  and  glorious  results  of  this  hard- 
earned  victory,  that  the  following  spirited  poem,  was  pro- 
duced by  Mr.  Thomas  Buchanan  Read  : 

SHERIDAN'S    RIDE. 

BY  THOMAS  BUCHANAN  READ. 

Up  from  the  South  at  break  of  day, 
Bringing  from  Winchester  fresh  dismay. 
The  affrighted  air  with  a  shudder  bore, 
Like  a  herald  in  haste,  to  the  chieftain's  door, 
The  terrible  grumble,  and  rumble,  and  roar, 
Telling  the  battle  was  on  once  uiore, 
And  Sheridan  twenty  miles  away. 

And  wider  still  those  billows  of  war 
Thundered  along  the  horizon's  bar ; 
And  louder  yet  into  Winchester  rolled 
The  roar  of  that  red  sea  uncontrolled, 
Making  the  blood  of  the  listener  cold, 


110  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN". 

As  he  thought  of  the  stake  in  that  fiery  fray, 
And  Sheridan  twenty  miles  away. 

But  there  is  a  road  from  Winchester  town, 

A  good,  broad  highway  leading  down ; 

And  there,  through  the  flush  of  the  morning  light, 

A  steed,  as  black  as  the  steeds  of  night 

Was  seen  to  pass,  as  with  eagle  flight. 

As  if  he  knew  the  terrible  need  ; 

He  stretched  away  with  his  utmost  speed  ; 

Hills  rose  and  fell,  but  his  heart  was  gay, 

With  Sheridan  fifteen  miles  away. 

Still  sprung  from  those  swift  hoofs,  thundering  South, 
The  dust,  like  the  smoke  from  the  cannon's  mouth ; 
Or  the  trail  of  a  comet,  sweeping  faster  and  faster, 
Foreboding  to  traitors  the  doom  of  disaster. 
The  heart  of  the  steed  and  the  heart  of  the  master 
Were  beating  like  prisoners  assaulting  their  walls, 
Impatient  to  be  where  the  battle-field  calls ; 
Every  nerve  of  the  charger  was  strained  to  full  play, 
With  Sheridan  only  ten  miles  away. 

Under  his  spurning  feet,  the  road 

Like  an  arrowy  Alpine  river  flowed, 

And  the  landscape  sped  away  behind 

Like  an  ocean  flying  before  the  wind ; 

And  the  steed,  like  a  bark  fed  with  furnace  ire, 

Swept  on,  with  his  wild  eyes  full  of  fire. 

But  lo  !  he  is  nearing  his  heart's  desire  ; 

He  is  snuffing  the  smoke  of  the  roaring  fray. 

With  Sheridan  only  five  miles  away. 

The  first  that  the  General  saw  were  the  groups 
Of  stragglers,  and  then  the  retreating  troops  ; — 
What  was  done — what  to  do — a  glance  told  him  botli ; 
Then  striking  his  spurs,  with  a  terrible  oath, 


LIFE   OF    MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN".  Ill 

He  dashed  down  the  line  -mid  a  storm  of  huzzas, 
And  the  wave  of  retreat  checked  its  course  there, because 
The  sight  of  its  master  compelled  it  to  pause. 
With  foam  and  with  dust  the  black  charger  was  gray  ; 
By  the  flash  of  his  eye,  and  his  red  nostril's  play, 
He  seemed  to  the  whole  great  army  to  say  : 
"  I  have  brought  you  Sheridan  all  the  way 
From  Winchester,  down  to  save  the  day  I" 

Hurrah,  hurrah  for  Sheridan  ! 

Hurrah,  hurrah  for  horse  and  man! 

And  when  their  statues  are  placed  on  high, 

Under  the  dome  of  the  Union  sky. 

The  American  Soldiers'  Temple  of  Fame, 

There  with  the  glorious  General's  name. 

Be  it  said,  in  letters  both  bold  and  bright, 

"  Here  is  the  steed  that  saved  the  day. 
By  carrying  Sheridan  into  the  fight, 

From  Winchester — twenty  miles  away!"* 

A  characteristic  despatch  from  General  Sheridan  was 

issued  from  the  War  Department: 

"  Cedar  Creek,  Ya.,") 
"FHday,  Oct.  21,  1864—4  p.  m.  j 
"  Lieutenant- General  U.  S.  Grant,  City  Point,  Va. 

"  I  pursued  the  routed  force  of  the  enemy  nearly  to 
Mount  Jackson,  which  point  he  reached  during  the  night 
of  the  19th  and  20th,  without  an  organized  regiment  of 
his  army.  From  the  accounts  of  our  prisoners  who  have 
escaped,  and  citizens,  the  rout  was  complete.  About  two 
thousand  of  the  enemy  broke  and  made  their  way  down 
through  the  mountains  on  the  left. 

"  Fourteen  miles  on  the  line  of  retreat,  the  road  and 
country  were  covered  with  small  arms  thrown  away  by 
the  flying  rebels,  and  other  debris.     Forty-eight  pieces  of 

*  As  a  fitting  complimeut  to  the  author  of  this  magnificent 
lyric,  General  Sheridan  has  named  "  the  black  charger"  Read. 


112  LIFE   OF   MAJOR- GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

captured  artillery  are  now  at  my  headquarters.  I  think 
that  no  less  than  three  hundred  wagons  and  ambulances 
were  either  captured  or  destroyed.  The  accident  of  the 
morning  turned  to  our  advantage  as  much  as  though  the 
whole  movement  had  been  planned.  The  only  regret  I 
have,  is  the  capture  in  early  morning  of  from  eight  hun- 
dred to  one  thousand  men. 

"  I  am  now  sending  to  the  War  Department  ten  battle 
flags.  The  loss  of  artillery  in  the  morning,  was  seven 
from  Crook,  eleven  from  Emory,  six  from  Wright.  From 
all  that  I  can  learn,  I  think  that  Early's  reinforcements 
were  not  less  than  sixteen  thousand  men. 

"  P.  H.  Sheridan,  Major-General.''^ 

The  Army  and  Navy  Journal,  commenting  on  the 
position  of  things  at  this  time,  and  the  course  of  General 
Sheridan,  adds : 

The  recent  withdrawal  of  our  army  to  Kernstown,  five 
miles  south  of  Winchester,  produced  a  corresponding 
advance  of  Early  to  Strasburg,  and  thence  across  the 
famous  Cedar  creek.  Without  waiting,  however,  to  try 
the  test  of  a  battle,  Early  moved  back  again  to  Fisher's 
Hill.  He  may  possibly  use  this  strong  position  as  a  base 
for  future  operations.  But  even  could  he  advance  to  Win- 
chester, and  take  that  place,  he  would  find  it  a  meagre 
position  for  winter  quarters,  since  all  the  country  between 
him  and  his  railroad  base  is  stripped  and  desolate.  His 
only  hope  would  be  to  recover  lost  prestige  by  a  single 
coup — an  attempt  to  which  Sheridan  would  put  insuperable 
objections. 

The  change  in  the  position  of  the  armies,  however,  was 
accompanied  by  spirited  engagements  for  a  day  or  two  ; 
then  hostilities  subsided  into  those  guerrilla  operations 
which  constantly  disturb  the  quiet  of  the  valley.  Early, 
it  is  said,  had  heard  that  Sheridan  was  to  detach,  tempo- 
rarily or  permanently,  a  corps  from  his  command.  The 
retrograde  movement  from  Cedar  Creek  gave  additional 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  113 

color  to  this  idea.  The  enemy,  therefore,  sent  a  part  of 
his  cavahy  to  Wordensville,  to  threaten  our  right  and  rear, 
and  to  pillage,  also,  such  supplies  as  could  be  found.  On 
the  11th,  he  moved  part  of  his  forces  briskly  after  Sheri- 
dan, whose  march  to  Kernstown  we  have  already  described. 
On  the  left  was  Rosser's  cavalry  division,  already  thrown 
out  in  that  direction,  and  on  the  right  was  Lomax's  division, 
which  marched  to  Front  Royal,  while  Kershaw's  infantry 
division  kept  the  Winchester  turnpike,  and  arrived  at 
night  at  Newton,  confronting  Sheridan's  position  at  the 
next  point,  Kernstown.  Some  reconnoissances,  attended 
with  unimportant  skirmishes,  were  made  the  same  night 
by  the  enemy's  cavalry. 

The  next  day,  Saturday,  the  12th,  our  entire  cavalry 
force  moved  out  to  reconnoitre  the  enemy's  new  position. 
Merritt's  division  took  the  turnpike,  with  Custer's  on  his 
right,  and  Powell's  on  his  left,  the  latter  striking  off  on  the 
road  to  Front  Royal.  Powell  soon  after  noon  was  beyond 
the  Opequan,  holding  the  pike.  About  the  middle  of  the 
afternoon,  he  sent  forward  one  brigade,  which  encountered 
Lomax  near  the  small  village  of  Ninevah,  and  skirmished 
with  him.  A  second  brigade  was  then  sent  forw'ard,  and 
the  first  drawn  into  line.  The  enemy  at  once  rushed 
forward  on  a  determined  charge,  but  was  met  and  checked 
by  our  men,  who  advanced  in  turn,  and  after  a  brisk 
encounter  drove  him,  and  pursued  him  a  long  distance 
toward  Port  Royal.  In  this  affair  we  captured  two  can- 
non and  caissons,  two  colors,  over  one  hundred  and  fifty 
prisoners,  including  twenty  officers,  and  some  horses. 
Several  of  Early's  officers  also,  including  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Marshall,  were  killed.  Our  total  loss  was  less 
than  thirty,  while  the  enemy's  was  probably  greater.  The 
enemy's  division  consisted  of  about  ten  regiments. 

On  the  right,  Custer  was  moving  down  the  Middle  road, 
and  the  one  between  that  and  the  turnpike,  while  Merritt 


114  LIFE   or   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

took  the  turnpike.  Caster  skirmished  briskly  all  day, 
moving  slowly  but  steadily  back  to  Cedar  creek.  Our 
losses  were  in  Custer's  division,  about  fiftv  in  killed  and 
wounded,  including  Colonel  Hull,  killed.  The  division 
captured  twenty  or  thirty  prisoners,  and  lost  from  one 
hundred  and  thirty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty.  Merritt  had 
a  similar  experience  of  constant  skirmishing,  with  a  loss 
of  about  forty  men  killed  and  wounded.  He  did  not 
advance  far,  however,  finding  Kershaw's  division  in  his 
front,  and  superior  to  his  own.  In  a  word,  therefore,  our 
cavalry  had  pressed  the  enemy,  without  forcing  a  general 
engagement.  At  night  it  retired  toward  its  old  position, 
having  completed  the  reconnoissance.  It  is  probable  that 
the  enemy's  cavalry  was  also  engaged  in  reconnoitering 
when  ours  encountered  it.  That  night  the  enemy  retired 
across  Cedar  creek,  and  carried  his  whole  army  back  to 
Fisher's  Hill,  as  our  cavalry  discovered  on  the  following 
morning.  The  enemy's  movement  seems  to  have  been  a 
reconnoissance,  and  his  withdrawal  commenced  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  12th,  during  the  cavalry  skirmishing. 
Our  cavalry  have  since  reconnoitered  to  Strasburg, 
ascertaining  that  the  enemy's  main  force  is  either  at  New 
Market  again,  or,  at  all  events,  not  nearer  us  than  Fisher's 
Hill.  His  entire  army  did  not  equal  fifteen  thousand 
men,  and  it  had  received  no  reinforcements,  except  a  few 
poorly  equipped  recruits.  Our  loss  in  the  cavalry  corps 
was  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  men,  of  which  the  ma- 
jority were  prisoners.  The  enemy's  report  is  that  Rosser 
drove  our  forces  back,  inflicting  a  greater  loss  than  he 
suffered,  and  capturing  two  hundred  prisoners.  In  effect, 
as  we  have  said,  the  enemy's  losses  were  slightly  heavier- 
than  ours,  and  he  \vgs  driven  from  his  ground,  leaving 
two  cannon  and  some  wagons  behind  him. 

Since   Early's  withdrawal,  our  cavalry  have  held  tho 
country  to  Cedar  creek,  and  have  reconnoitered  beyond 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  115 

tbe  creek,  meeting  and  skirmishing  with  the  enemy's 
cavaliy.  There  have  been  many  guerrilla  attacks  also  in 
our  rear,  between  Winchester  and  Martinsburg.  On  the 
16th,  Sergeant  SchafFner  and  fifteen  men  were  attacked 
by  Montgomery's  company  of  Mosby's  men,  near  the 
Opequan.  Schaflfner  was  killed,  six  of  his  men  killed  and 
wounded,  and  the  rest  captured  ;  but  afterwards  recap- 
tured by  the  Fifteenth  Michigan.  The  enemy  reports 
that  on  the  10th  Kinchelo's  partisan  rangers  wounded 
and  captured  several  of  our  cavalry  scouts.  On  the  ITth, 
a  detachment  of  Powell's  division  found  on  reconnoitering, 
that  Lomax  was  between  Milford  and  Luray.  A  few 
prisoners  were  captured  by  us  the  same  day,  among  them 
Captain  Hobson.  On  the  Martinsburgh  turnpike,  on  the 
15th,  several  of  our  soldiers  were  killed  by  guerrillas  ; 
and  on  the  next  day  twenty-five  of  our  cavalrymen  were 
surprised  by  guerrillas,  two  killed,  two  wounded,  and  the 
rest  captured.  Similar  encounters  take  place  frequently 
in  the  valley,  where  Mosby's  men  have  large  liberty. 
The  enemy  reports  that  McNeil  captured  twenty-three 
of  our  men  on  the  1st  inst.,  in  Hampshire  county — two 
or  three  men  also  being  killed  and  wounded  in  the 
encounter  on  each  side.  On  the  18th,  it  is  reported 
Captain  Blazear  with  about  sixty  men,  was  defeated  by 
guerrillas,  and  most  of  his  men  captured.  The  fact  that  a 
few  guerrillas  crossed  the  Potomac  caused  the  formation  of 
militia  companies  in  some  Pennsylvania  border  towns. 

It  was  at  Fisher's  Hill  that  Sheridan  paused  in  his  first 
advance  up  the  valley,  and  from  which  he  turned  back  to 
Harper's  Ferry.  But  then  Early  had  not  been  defeated, 
and  was  demonstrative  and  aggressive.  Had  Early  been 
able  to  withdraw  to  Fisher's  Hill  at  the  outset,  and  there 
fight  the  battle  he  fought  at  Winchester,  he  might  have 
suffered  less  himself,  and  inflicted  a  severer  blow  on  his 
7 


116  LIFE   OF  MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

adversary.  But  even  Fisher's  Hill  failed  to  protect  him, 
exhausted  and  shattered  by  the  disaster  at  Winchester. 
Nor  is  Fisher's  Hill  the  formidable  position  it  at  first 
appears.  Almost  impregnable  to  assault,  it  yet  can  be  easily 
turned.  Sheridan  found  in  his  second  experiment  that  he 
?  could  flank  it,  especially  when  his  troops  were  flushed 
with  success. 

From  Fisher's  Hill  Early  found  his  way  to  Brown's 
gap,  and  there  held  a  strong   and  almost   impregnable 
position.      Intrenchraents   were   thrown   up,   and   every 
thing    prepared   for   a   determined   stand.     At   Brown's 
gap   Early  enjoyed  unusual  facilities  for  defence.     It  is 
situated  in  the  Blue  Ridge.     North  of  it  are  Swift  Run 
and  Semon's  gaps ;  south  of  it,  Rockfish  gap  and  Jaman's 
gaps.     All  of    these  are   so   near    together  that   Early 
easily  held  them  under  his  control,  posting  his  main  force 
at  Brown's  gap,  and  throwing  his  flanks  out  as  far  as 
Rockfish  gap  and  Swift  Run  gap.     These  are  the  gate- 
ways to  Gordonsville  and  Charlottesville  from  Staunton 
and  Harrisonburg.     He  held  them  firmly,  and  was  dis- 
posed not  to  surrender  them  without  a  decisive  battle. 
Sheridan,  following  him  quickly  up  the  valley,  halted  at 
Harrisonburg,  and  threw  his  cavalry  out  to  Cross  Keys 
and  Port  Republic.     The  latter  attempted  twice  or  thrice 
to  carry  the  gap  ;  or,  rather,  reconnoitered  it  in  force,  to 
discover  its  strength.     They  were  handled  so  roughly  by 
Early's  troops  that  it  was  very  evident  the  enemy  had  re- 
covered his  equilibrium  again,  and  was  disposed  to  con- 
test every  rod  of  the  way.     It  was  also  discovered  that 
Early  was  very  strongly  posted  in  the  gap. 

Early  now  threw  his  own  cavalry  out  in  front  of  his 
position,  and  several  times  assumed  the  offensive,  once 
barely  missing  success  in  flanking  Powell's  division,  and 
accelerating  our  withdrawal  from  Port  Republic  to  Cross 
Keyes. 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  117 

It  was  now  evident,  however,  that  for  Sheridan  a 
choice  of  two  things  remained — either  to  prosecute  his 
advance  toward  Lynchburg,  or  to  retire  down  the  vallev. 

It  may  be  asked  why  Sheridan  did  not  choose  the 
other  alternative,  and  why,  not  contenting  himself  with 
severely  defeating  Early  in  a  series  of  pitched  battles,  he 
did  not  make  further  progress  up  the  valley.  The  reason 
may  be  found  probably  in  his  definite  instructions  from 
General  Grant,  although,  of  course,  the  country  does  not 
yet  know  officially  what  those  instructions  were.  It  must 
be  confessed,  also,  that  Sheridan  found  himself  in  a  posi- 
tion where  it  would  have  been  rather  hazardous  to  go 
ahead.  He  had  but  two  paths  before  him — one  straight 
up  the  valley,  in  order  to  strike  Lynchburg  in  that  way. 
In  that  case  he  would  probably  have  seized  first  Staun- 
ton, and  then  Lexington,  and  then  crossing  the  Blue 
Ridge  through  Irish  Creek  gap,  or  Robertson's  gap,  he 
would  have  been  quickly  before  Lynchburg.  Or,  he 
might  have  marched  easterly  through  one  of  the  gaps 
lying  directly  in  his  front,  and  deserting  the  Shenandoah 
valley,  have  continued  the  campaign  east  of  the  Blue 
Ridge.  In  favor  of  this  latter  scheme  was  one  obvious 
advantage.  He  would  threaten  simultaneously  several 
important  points — Orange  Court  House,  Gordonsville, 
Charlottesville,  and  Lynchburg.  The  latter,  of  course,  is 
the  most  important.  But  to  seize  Gordonsville,  the  base 
of  so  many,  of  Lee's  operations,  and  Orange  Court  House, 
in  front  of  which  this  grand  Virginia  campaign  so  mag- 
nificently opened,  to  capture  the  enemy's  supplies  and 
materials  there,  and  once  more  strike  and  destroy  the 
Virginia  Central  road,  was  no  mean  undertaking. 

To  each  of  these  schemes  there  were  obstacles.  The 
first  would  obviously  leave  Early  directly  on  our  flank, 
intact  and  alert.  Sheridan  woula  not  have  passed  above 
Staunton  before  his  opponent,  descending  from  his  eyrie 


118  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

at  Brown's  gap,  would  have  struck  his  rear,  ruined  his 
communications,  and  forced  a  sudden  retreat.  The  objec- 
tion to  the  plan  was  the  direct  presence  of  Early  in  our 
front.  He  also  had  seen  the  advantage  of  crossing  the 
Blue  Ridge  toward  Gordonsville  and  Charlottesville. 
He  therefore  disposed  himself  strongly  to  resist  us.  A 
few  sharp  encounters  showed  that  his  reported  weakness 
had  been  exaggerated  :  that  he  had  recovered  from  his 
severe  defeats,  and  was  daily  getting  reinforcements.  It 
being  obvious,  therefore,  that  no  more  was  to  be  gained 
in  the  region  of  Cross  Keys  and  Port  Republic,  it  ob- 
viously remained  only  to  fall  back  down  the  valley  to 
some  point  which  could  be  easily  and  firmly  held.  The 
desperate  and  audacious  raids  of  guerrilla  bands  between 
Strasburg  and  the  Potomac,  under  the  lead  of  the  ubiqui- 
tous Mosby,  of  White,  and  other  partisan  chieftains,  made 
this  change  of  position  still  more  desirable.  Finally, 
Sheridan's  winter  supplies  were  on  the  way.  It  was 
necessary  to  fall  back  and  meet  them,  lest  they  should  be 
captured.  The  great  victory  of  Cedar  creek  has  not  only 
justified  the  strategy  of  Sheridan  in  retreating,  but  has 
once  more  convicted  the  enemy  of  rashness,  and  added  to 
the  growing  laurels  of  the  Union  general. 

CONGRATULATORY   ORDER. 

"  Headquarters  Second  Brigade,  First  Cav.  Div.,> 
"Middle  Military  Div.,  Nov.  6,  1864.     ) 

"  Soldiers: — The  Brevet  Brigadier-General  Command- 
ing feels  that  he  should  not  allow  the  present  opportunity 
to  pass  without  referring  to  and  recalling  the  operations 
of  his  brigade  during  the  late  engagements. 

"Rapidly  transferred  from  the  army  of  the  Potomac  to 
the  Shenandoah  valley,  you,  on  the  second  day's  march, 
engaged  a  brigade  of  mounted  infantry,  and  in  one  hour 
drove  them  from  two  strong  positions  in  utter  rout.  Again, 
at  Front  Royal,  Smithfieid,  Kearneysville  and  Shepherds- 
town,  your  sturdy  arms  and  keen  sabres  on  each  occasion 
hurled  back  the  serried  masses  of  the  foe.     At  the  battle 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENEEAL   SllEBlDAX.  119 

of  Opequan,  after  charg:ing  and  routing  a  superior  force  of 
the  enemy's  cavalry,  in  your  front,  you  whirled  like  a 
thunderbolt  on  the  left  of  his  infantry  lines,  and  rode  them 
down  in  the  face  of  a  withering  fire,  in  two  successive 
charges,  capturing  over  five  hundred  prisoners  and  five 
battle  flags. 

"  When  detached  from  the  division,  and  in  advance 
during  the  long  pursuit  of  Early's  army  from  Fisher's  Hill 
to  Port  Republic,  your  gallantry  and  daring  while  pressing 
the  enemy  called  forth  the  highest  praise.  In  the  action 
of  the  9th  of  October,  taking  the  advance  near  Edingburg, 
you  drove  Lomax's  division  *  whirling'  through  Mount 
Jackson  and  across  the  Shenandoah,  capturing  his  last  gun 
and  his  train. 

"  On  the  memorable  19th  of  October  the  crowning  glory 
was  re^^erved  for  you  of  pursuing  the  enemy  and  reaping 
the  fruits  of  that  brilliant  victory.  After  sturdily  fighting 
from  early  morn  with  the  gallant  old  division  to  which  you 
are  attached,  in  its  successful  efforts  to  check  and  finallv 
drive  the  enemy's  right,  you  dashed  across  the  bridge  over 
Cedar  creek  under  a  heavy  fire,  charging  and  completely 
smashing  the  enemy's  rear  guard.  Darkness  did  not  relax 
your  eff'orts,  but  on  you  pushed,  capturiag  guns,  trains  and 
prisoners,  until,  at  near  midnight,  you  had  reached  Fisher's 
Hill,  eight  miles  from  the  battle-field. 

"  At  early  dawn  you  charged  and  drove  the  enemy's 
cavalry  from  the  hill  and  pushed  on  to  Woodstock  after 
the  fast  flying  foe,  who  could  not  again  be  overtaken. 

"  Twenty-two  of  the  forty-three  guns  captured  by  the 
cavalry,  fifty-nine  wagons  and  ambulances,  over  four  hun- 
dred prisoners  (including  a  number  of  officers,)  and  two 
battle-flags,  were  the  trophies  of  your  success. 

"  You  have  captured,  during  this  short  campaign, 
twenty-four  guns,  nine  battle-flags  in  action,  and  over  one 
thousand  prisoners. 

"  This  brilliant  success  has  not  been  effected  without 
severe  loss.  One-third  of  your  number,  including  forty 
officers,  have  been  killed  or  wounded.  They  have  fallen 
nobly  at  their  post  of  duty. 

"  Praise  from  me  is  superfluous.  The  record  of  your 
deeds  is  sufficient.  You  have  done  your  duty,  and  the 
brigade  has  maintained  its  old  reputation. 

"Thomas  C.   TfE.XY.'^,  Brevet  BrigadLcr-GeneraW 


120  LIFE   OF   MAJUR-GENERAL    SHERIDAN. 

The  grateful  feeling  of  the  country  toward  General 
Sheridan  and  his  brave  command,  is  implied  in  the  follow- 
ing brief  notes  : 

"  Dear  Sir  : — Your  telegram  advising  me  of  the  ship- 
ment of  six  thousand  turkeys  for  the  thanksgiving  dinner 
of  this  army  is  received.  Permit  me  in  behalf  of  the  sol- 
diers to  thank  the  good  people  of  New  York  and  the 
country  for  their  kindness,  and  to  assure  them  that  for  the 
occasion  a  no  more  acceptable  present  could  have  been 
made.  Orders  have  been  issued  for  the  equal  distribution 
on  arrival.  P.  H.  Sheridan,  Major- General.'''' 


"  Headquarters  Middle  Military  Division,) 
"In  the  Field,  Nov.  13,  1864.  j 

"  J.  Foster  Jenkins,   General  Secretary   United   States 

Sanitary   Commission : 

"  Dear  Sir  : — Yours  of  October  31,  advising  me  of  my 
having  been  elected  an  associate  member  of  the  United 
States  Sanitary  Commission,  is  received.  I  have  the 
honor  to  thank  you  for  the  compliment  paid  me,  and  in 
behalf  of  the  sick  and  wounded  of  this  army  to  acknowl- 
edge the  many  benefits  derived  from  your  charitable 
association. 

"  I  am,  sir,  yours,  truly, 

"P.  H.  Sheridan,  Major- General.^'' 

THE  DEVASTATION  OF  THE  VALLEY. 

Some  evidence  of  the  terror  struck  to  the  rebels  by  these 
victories  of  Sheridan,  will  be  found  in  the  following  extract 
from  one  of  the  journals  of  the  rebel  capital — the  Rich- 
mond Whig  of  October  15,  1864  : 

"  Sheridan  reports  to  Grant  that  in  moving  down  the 
valley  to  Woodstock,  he  has  burned  over  two  thousand 
barns  filled  with  wheat,  hay,  and  farming  implements,  and 
over  seventy  mills  filled  with  flour  and  wheat.  This  was 
done  by  order  of  Grant  himself,  commander  of  all  the 
Yankee  armies.  It  is  only  the  execution  of  part  of  the 
order  to  destroy  every  thing  in  the  valley  that  will  sustain 
life.     The  fell  work  is  still  going  on.     Now,  it  is  an  idle 


LIFE    OF    MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  121 

waste  of  words  to  denounce  this  sort  of  war.     We  have 
simply  to  regard  it  as  a  practical  matter,  and  ask  ourselves 
how  it  is  to  be  met.     There  is  one  effectual  way,  and  only 
one  we  know  of,  to  arrest  and  prevent  this  and  every 
other  sort  of  atrocity — and  that  is,  to  burn  one  of  the 
chief  cities  of  the  enemy,  say  Boston,  Philadelphia,  of 
Cincinnati,  and  let  its  fate  hang  over  the  others  as  a  warn 
ing  of  what  may  be  done  and  will  be  done  to  them  if  the 
present  system  of  war  on  the  part  of  the  enemy  is  con 
tinued.     If  we  are  asked  how  such  a  thing  can  be  done, 
we  answer  nothing  would  be  easier.     A  million  of  dollars 
would  lay  the  proudest  city  of  the  enemy  in  ashes.     The 
men  to  execute  the  work  are  already  there.     There  would 
be  no  difficulty  in  finding  there,  here,  or  in  Canada,  suita- 
ble persons  to  take  charge  of  the  enterprise,  and  arrange 
its  details.     Twenty  men,  with  plans  all  preconcerted,  and 
means  provided,  selecting  some  dry,  windy  night,  might 
fire  Boston  in  a  hundred  places,  and  wrap  it  in  flames 
from  centre  to  suburbs.     They  might  retaliate  on  Rich- 
mond, Charleston,  etc.     Let  them  do  so  if  they  dare.     It 
is  a  game  at  which  we  can  beat  them.     New  York  is 
worth  twenty  Richmonds.     They  have  a  dozen  towns  to 
our  one,  and  in  their  towns  is  centered  nearly  all  their 
wealth.    It  would  not  be  immoral  and  barbarous.    It  is  not 
immoral  or  barbarous  to  defend  yourself  by  any  means  or 
with  any  weapon  the  enemy  may  employ  for  your  destruc- 
tion.    They  choose  to  substitute  the  torch  for  the  sword. 
We  may  so  use  their  own  weapon  as  to  make  them  re- 
pent, literally  in   sackcloth   and   ashes,  that   they   ever 
adopted  it.     If  the  Executive  is  not  ready  for  this,  we 
commend  the  matter  to  the  secret  deliberation  of  the  Con* 
gress  about  to  meet." 

SHERIDAN  AS  A   GUN  TAKER. 
Alluding  to  his  brilliant  success  in  capturing  cannons 
from  the  enemy,  the  Army  and  Navy  Journal  of  November 
26,  1864,  says  : 


122  LIFE   OF   MAJOK-GENERAL   SHERIDAN". 

"  General  Sheridan  seems  inclined  to  emulate,  in  hia 
Shenandoah  campaign,  the  reputation  of  General  Grant, 
as  the  great  gun-taker  of  the  war.  Before  the  present 
campaign,  the  Lieutenant-General  had  got  well  into  the 
hundreds  in  the  number  of  his  captured  cannon — exactly 
how  far  we  forgot,  but  the  figure  approached  half  a  thou- 
sand. Official  reports  from  the  cavalry  corps  of  the  Shen- 
andoah army,  have  lately  set  forth  the  number  of  cannon 
captured  from  the  unhappy  Early, — though,  by  the  way, 
we  must  caution  some  readers  not  to  be  verdant  enough 
to  suppose  that  the  cavalry  divisions  have  charged  all  the 
batteries,  or  done  all  the  bloody  fighting,  or  suffered  all 
the  losses  in  the  campaign,  merely  because  they  share 
with  each  other  the  captures  of  flags  and  cannon.  The 
infantry  must  have  a  tithe  of  praise  too,  though  the 
horsemen  were  the  swiftest  in  picking  up  the  spoils, 
which,  at  the  end  of  a  hard  fight,  the  ruined  enemy  dropped 
in  his  flight.  At  all  events  it  is  clear  that  Sheridan  now 
counts  his  captured  artillery  with  three  figures,  and,  like 
Grant,  is  among  'the  hundreds.'  What  singular  magnet 
he  possesses  for  attracting  Early's  ordnance  must  be  a 
perpetual  mystery  to  the  Tredegar  workmen,  whose  main 
occupation  of  late,  seems  to  be  turning  out  guns  for  him 
to  lose.  A  press  correspondent  from  the  valley  humor- 
ously relates  that  new  batteries  have  lately  been  sent  to 
Early  from  Richmond,  and  that  they  came  marked 
*  Lieutenant-General  Early,'  whereupon  some  malicious 
wag  wrote  over  this  direction  the  words, '  Major- General 
Philip  Sheridan,  care  of  Uncle  Sam.'" 


CHAPTER    XL 

THE  GREAT  VIRGINIA  RAID. 


During  the  first  week  in  December,  1864,  Merritt's 
(first)  cavalry  division  crossed  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  made 
a  grand  raid  through  the  upper  parts  of  Loudon  and  Fau- 
quier counties,  which  were  the  chief  haunts  of  Mosby  and 
his   men.     Every  thing  was  laid  waste,  barns,    houses^ 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL  SHERIDAN.  123 

farms  and  mills ;  many  cattle  were  captured,  and  others 
slaughtered  and  burned.  Most  of  the  people  were  sym- 
pathizers with  Mosby,  so  that  the  damage  chiefly  fell  upon 
the  enemy.  The  raid  was  in  accordance  with  the  policy 
initiated  by  Grant  and  Sheridan,  and  its  results,  officially 
reported,  are  as  follows  : 

PROPERTY  CAPTURED. 

1st  Brigade.     2d  Brigade.    Re8.  Brigade.  Total. 

Horses 147  235  86  388 

Mules 4  4         8 

Cattle 2,563  2,483  474  5,520 

Sheep 3,607  2,130  100  5,837 

Swine 1,033  110         1,141 

PROPERTY   DESTROYED. 

Barns 474  464  230  '       1,168 

Mills 19  22  8  49 

Factories, 2         2 

Distilleries 14  16 

Tons  of  hay 17,620      10,000        27,620 

Bushels  of  wheat ■ •        26,500      25,000        51,500 

Bushels  of  corn 5,400        57,500         62,900 

Bushels  of  oats 2,000         2,002 

Haystacks 990  131         1,121 

Wheatstacks 57 57 

Tanneries 1 1 

Stacks  of  grain 104 104 

Estimated  value  of  property  destroyed  and  captured  by 

first  brigade.  Colonel  Stagg $857,716 

Second  brigade,  General  Devon 1,239,520 

Reserve  brigade 411,520 

Total .82,508,756 

Perhaps  the  statement  of  a  rebel  commissioner  of  the 
revenue  in  Shenandoah  county,  made  about  the  same 
time,  will  give  a  clearer  idea  of  Sheridan's  previous 
cavalry  operations  in  that  county  alone.     He  says  : 

"  I  will  now  try  to  give  you  some  idea  of  the  damage 
done  in  part  of  this  county  by  the  Yankees  in  the  way  of 


124  LIFE    OF   MAJOR-GENERAL    SHERIDAN. 

burning  of  barns,  mills,  &c.  I  have  been  over  nearly  the 
whole  of  my  district,  comprising  all  the  upper  end  of  the 
county,  from  Narrow  Passage  creek  to  the  Rockingham 
county  line,  and  I  find  there  have  been  burned  by  Sheri- 
dan's army  two  hundred  and  fifteen  barns,  eighteen  dwell- 
ings, eleven  grist  mills,  nine  water  sawmills,  two  steam 
sawmills,  one  furnace,  tw^o  forges,  one  fulling  mill,  one 
carding  machine,  besides  a  number  of  smaller  buildings, 
such  as  stables,  &c.  The  quantity  of  grain  destroyed  is 
immense.  I  cannot  give  you  any  idea  of  the  amount  of 
grain,  hay,  fodder,  &c.,  destroyed,  but  the  quantity  is  very 
large." 

On  Monday,  the  18th,  an  expedition,  consisting  of 
Merritt's  (first)  and  Powell's  (second)  cavalry  divisions, 
the  former  temporarily  under  Deven,  and  the  whole  under 
Torbert,  left  the  camp  at  Winchester.  The  expedition 
had  been  carefully  prepared  for  some  days,  and  the  troops 
took  six  days'  rations  and  one  day's  forage.  No  artillery 
was  carried,  and  an  unusually  short  train,  considering  that 
it  was  a  cavalry  raid.  Deven,  in  advance,  was  off  at  day- 
light, and  the  expedition  marched  briskly,  though  in  a 
heavy  rain-storm.  At  noon,  the  north  fork  of  the  Shenan- 
doah was  reached  and  forded,  and  Front  Royal  passed  ; 
the  column  bivouacked  at  Chester  gap,  after  a  march  of 
twenty-five  miles.  A  cold  and  heavy  gale  during  the 
night  blew  up  a  frost.  But  the  troops  started  at  daylight 
again,  on  the  19th,  and  for  the  first  part  of  the  march 
were  ordered  to  ride  two  miles  and  walk  one,  till  the  sun 
appeared  to  w^arm  the  atmosphere.  A  detachment  under 
Captain  Faron,  of  the  twenty-first  New  York,  scouting 
for  that  purpose,  overtook  and  captured  a  herd  of  cattle, 
which  was  under  charge  of  the  enemy's  soldiers,  the 
guard  escaping.  Several  prisoners  were  picked  up  here 
and  there  during  the  day.  The  troops  marched  that  day 
through  Sperryville.  The  third  day,  the  20th,  opened 
with  bail  and  rain.     The  troops  were  hurried  forward, 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  125 

however,  and  reaching  Creighsville,  found  McCausland's 
camp-fires  there  Btill  burning.  Powell  encamped  there, 
Deven  keeping  on  to  Madison  Court  House,  six  miles  dis- 
tant. At  the  latter  point,  Stagg's  Michigan  brigade,  in 
Deven's  advance,  encountered  the  enemy's  pickets,  and 
drove  them  back,  in  a  sharp  skirmish,  through  the  town. 

The  enemy's  loss  was  thirteen,  including  a  major  and 
captain,  the  former  killed.  Ours  was  still  less.  Oq  the 
morning  of  Wednesday,  the  21st,  which  was  clear  and 
cold,  Powell,  in  advance,  started  from  Madison  Court 
House.  Soon  after,  Tibbett's  brigade  overtook  the  enemy, 
who  had  retreated  on  Stannardsville,  and  drove  him  rap- 
idly. The  enemy,  under  Lomax,  retreated  over  the  bridge 
which  crosses  the  Kapidan  to  Liberty  mills,  and  fired  it, 
checking  our  pursuit,  and  then  opened  from  the  high 
grounds  beyond  with  artillery.  A  reconnoissance  was 
made,  and  as  its  result,  Kellogg's  brigade  of  Deven's 
division  crossed  the  river  by  a  ford  on  the  right,  and 
Cafhart's  brigade  of  Powell's  division  on  the  left.  The 
right  had  some  sharp  skirmishing,  but  the  left  met  little 
opposition  in  crossing.  The  enemy,  however,  fell  back 
once  more,  to  avoid  flanking,  and  Cafhart  attacked  him 
with  spirit,  Kellogg  on  the  right  being  equally  prompt. 

Next  morning,  Thursday,  the  22d,  the  enemy's  two  guns 
were  found  abandoned,  with  full  ammunition-chests,  and 
horses.  Kellogg  pushed  on  to  within  two  or  three  miles 
of  Gordonsville.  There  he  found  the  enemy  very  strongly 
posted  in  a  narrow  pass  on  the  turnpike  road.  Torbert 
accordingly  turned  about  and  retraced  his  steps  to  Madi- 
son Court  House,  and  thence  to  Warrenton.  Deven 
marched  thence  through  Salem  to  Ashby's  gap  and  Mill- 
wood, and  back  to  Winchester.  Powell  marched  through 
New  Baltimore,  White  Plains,  Middleburg,  Snickersville, 
and  Perrysville,  to  Winchester.  Both  columns  destroyed 
forage  and  cattle  on  their  route,  with  such  other  devasta- 


126  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL  SHERIDAN. 

tion  as  was  possible.  They  were  harassed  a  little  on  their 
return  by  the  enemy,  who  promptly  issued  from  Gordons- 
ville,  but  no  damage  of  importance  was  done  to  either 
column.  The  raid  seems  to  have  been  quite  successful. 
Our  total  loss  was  probably  only  about  fifty  men.  Our 
last  cavalry  fight  is  the  one  which  the  enemy  describes  as 
occurring  at  Jack's  shop,  seven  and  a-half  miles  from 
Gordonsville.  He  says  that  there  are  no  government 
stores  or  property  of  any  kind  at  Gordonsville,  and  all 
we  could  do  there  would  be  to  burn  the  empty  buildings, 
and  break  the  track  and  switches. 

On  Monday,  the  19th,  a  co-operative  cavalry  column, 
consisting  of  Custer's  division,  moved  out  from  camp  on 
a  reconnoissance  up  the  valley.  A  party  of  scouts  under 
Major  Young,  preceded  the  column,  and  skirmished  on 
Monday  and  Tuesday  with  the  enemy's  pickets,  capturing 
a  few  of  them.  On  Tuesday  night,  the  20th,  the  column 
had  reached  and  bivouacked  at  Lacey's  spring,  nine  miles 
from  Harrisonburg.  Just  before  daylight,  next  morning, 
the  camp  was  surprised  by  Rosser's  cavalry,  and  forty  or 
fifty  of  the  first  New  Hampshire,  on  picket  duty,  were 
captured.  Both  brigades,  Pennington's  first  and  Chap- 
man's second,  became  sharply  engaged,  and  eventually 
fell  back  down  the  turnpike — our  total  loss,  however, 
being  only  two  killed  and  twenty-two  wounded,  with 
about  forty  prisoners.  The  advance  of  an  infantry  column 
of  the  enemy  is  said  to  have  been  the  cause  of  our  falling 
back.  The  enemy  were  dressed  in  blue  overcoats,  proba- 
bly captured  ones,  and  much  confusion  resulted,  of  course, 
in  the  fighting.  His  loss  was  about  the  same  as  ours  in 
killed  and  wounded.  He  used  the  sabre  chieflv,  as  the 
wounds  of  our  men  attested.  The  column  returned  to 
Winchester  without  further  adventure. 

Soon  after  the  events  now  recorded,  the  entire  sixth 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GEXERAL  SHERIDAN.  127 

corps  was  withdrawn  from  Sheridan,  and  sent  to  Grant  at 
Richmond. 

MARCH    TO    LYNCHBURG. 

On  Monday,  the  27th  of  February,  1865,  Sheridan's 
column  commenced  its  march  from  the  camp  near  Win- 
chester. General  Hancock  was  placed  in  charge  of  the 
Middle  Military  Division,  during  the  absence  of  General 
Sheridan,  with  headquarters  at  Winchester.  During  the 
first  twenty-four  hours,  Sheridan  marched  to  Woodstock, 
a  distance  of  thirty  miles.  Keeping  straight  up  the  val- 
ley, he  reached  Waynesboro'  on  Thursday.  There  Early 
first  offered  effective  resistance.  A  battle  took  place 
near  Waynesboro',  and  it  resulted  in  an  entire  victory  for 
Sheridan,  who  captured  one  thousand  three  hundred  prison- 
ers, eight  cannon,  and  about  one  hundred  wagons. 

OFFICIAL  DESPATCHES. 

*'  War  Department,  ") 

"  WashingtOxN,  March  5,  1865—8  P.  M.j 
*'  Major-General  Dix,  New  York  : 

"  The  following  despatches  in  relation  to  the  reported 
defeat  and  capture  of  General  Early  by  Sheridan,  and  the 
capture  of  Charlottesville,  have  been  received  by  this  De- 
partment. General  Sheridan  and  his  forces  commenced 
their  movement  last  Monday,  and  were  at  Staunton  when 
last  heard  from,  Major-General  Hancock  was  placed  in 
charge  of  the  Middle  Military  Division,  during  the  ab- 
sence of  General  Sheridan,  headquarters  at  Winchester. 
(Signed)         "E.  M.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  War.^^ 

"  City  Point,  Ya.,  3Iarch  5 — 11  A.M. 
"  To  Hon.  Edwin  M.   Stanton,  Secretary  of  War  :     ■ 

"  Deserters  in  this  morning  report  that  Sheridan  has 
routed   Early  and  captured   Charlottesville.     They  report 
four  regiments  having  gone  from  here  to  reinforce  Early. 
(Signed)        "U.  S.  Graut,  Lieutenant- General.'^ 


128  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

"  City  Point,  Va.,  3Iarch  5 — 2  P.  M. 
"  Hon.  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  War : 

"  Deserters  from  every  point  of  the  enemy's  line  confirm 
the  capture  of  Charlottesville  by  General  Sheridan.  They 
say  he  captured  General  Early  and  nearly  his  entire  force, 
consisting  of  one  thousand  eight  hundred.  Four  brigades 
are  reported  as  being  sent  to  Lynchburg,  to  get  there 
before  General  Sheridan,  if  possible. 

{Signed)         "U.  S.  (j^a^t,  Lieutenant- General. ^^ 

''  City  Point,  Ya.,  March  5—4  P.  M. 
"  Hon.  E.  M.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  War : 

"  Refugees   confirm  the  statements  of  deserters  as  to 
the  capture  of  General  Early  and  nearly  his  entire  force. 
They  say  it  took  place  on  Thursday  last,  between  Staun- 
ton and  Charlottesville,  and  that  the  defeat  was  total. 
{Signed)         "U.  S.  Gra.^t,  Lieutenant- General^ 

"Headquarters  Middle  Military  Division,") 
"  Columbia,  Ya.,  Friday,  March  10,  1865.      | 
''  Lieutenant- General U. S.Grant, Commanding  Armies 
of  the  United  States  : 

"  General  : — In  my  despatch  dated  Waynesboro',  I 
gave  you  a  brief  account  of  the  defeat  of  Early  by  Custer's 
division.  The  same  night  this  division  was  pushed  across 
the  Blue  Ridge,  and  entered  Charlottesville  at  two  p.  m. 
the  next  day.  The  mayor  of  the  city  and  the  principal 
inhabitants  came  out  and  delivered  up  the  keys  of  the 
public  buildings. 

"  I  had  to  remain  at  Charlottesville  two  days.  This 
time  was  consumed  in  bringing  over  from  Waynesboro' 
our  ammunition  and  pontoon  trains.  The  weather  was 
horrible  beyond  description,  and  the  rain  incessant.  The 
two  divisions  were  during  this  time  occupied  in  destroying 
the  two  large  iron  bridges,  one  over  the  Rivanna  river, 
and  the  other  over  Morse's  creek,  near  Charlottesville, 
and  the  railroad  for  a  distance  of  eight  miles  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Lynchburg. 

"  On  the  6th  of  March,  I  sent  the  first  division,  General 
Deven  commanding,  to  Scottsville,  on  the  James  river, 
with  directions  to  send  out  light  parties  through  the  coun- 
try and  destroy  all  merchandise,  mills,  factories,  bridges, 
etc.,  on  the  Rivanna  river,  the  parties  to  join  the  division 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN".  129 

at  Scottsville.  The  division  then  proceeded  along  the 
canal  to  Duo;uidsvilIe,  fifteen  miles  from  Lynehburt^,  de- 
stroying every  lock,  and  in  many  places  the  banks  of  the 
canal.  At  Duguidsville  we  hoped  to  secure  the  bridge  to 
let  us  cross  the  river,  as  our  pontoons  were  useless  on  ac- 
count of  the  high  water.  In  this,  however,  we  were  foiled, 
as  both  this  bridge  and  the  bridge  at  Hardwicksville  were 
burned  by  the  enemy  upon  our  approach,  Merritt  accom- 
panied this  division, 

"  The  third  division  started  at  the  same  time  from 
Charlottesville,  and  proceeded  down  the  Lynchburg  rail- 
road to  Amherst  Court  Plouse,  destroying  every  bridge  on 
the  road,  and  in  many  places  miles  of  the  road.  The 
bridges  on  the  road  are  numerous,  and  some  of  them  five 
hundred  feet  in  length. 

"  We  have  found  great  abundance  in  this  country  for 
our  men  and  animals  ;  in  fact,  the  canal  had  been  the 
great  feeder  of  Richmond,  At  the  Rockfish  river,  the  bank 
of  the  canal  was  cut,  and  at  New  Canton,  where  the  dam 
is  across  the  James,  the  guard  lock  was  destroyed,  and  the 
James  river  let  into  the  canal,  carrying  away  the  banks,  and 
washing  out  the  bottom  of  the  canal.  The  dam  across 
the  James  at  this  point  was  also  partially  destroyed. 

"  I  have  had  no  opposition.  Everybody  is  bewildered 
by  our  movements.  I  have  had  no  news  of  any  kind  since  I 
left.  The  latest  Richmond  paper  was  of  the  4th,  but  con- 
tained nothing, 

"  I  omitted  to  mention  that  the  bridges  on  the  railroad 
from  Swoop's  depot,  on  the  other  side  of  Staunton,  to 
Charlottesville,  were  utterly  destroyed  ;  also,  all  bridges 
for  a  distance  of  ten  miles  on  the  Gordonsville  railroad. 

"  The  weather  has  been  very  bad  indeed,  raining  hard 
every  day,  with  the  exception  of  four  days,  since  we 
started.  My  wagons  have,  from  the  state  of  the  roads, 
detained  me. 

"  Up  to  the  present  time  we  have  captured  fourteen 
pieces  of  artillery,  eleven  at  Waynesboro',  and  three  at 
Charlottesville.  The  party  that  I  sent  back  from  Waynes- 
boro' started  with  six  pieces,  but  they  w^ere  obliged  to 
destroy  two  of  the  six  for  want  of  animals.  The  remain- 
ing eight  pieces  were  thoroughly  destroyed. 

"We  have  captured  up  to  the  present  time  twelve  canal- 


130  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

boats,  laden  with  supplies,  ammunition,  rations,  medical 
stores,  etc. 

"  I  cannot  speak  in  too  high  terms  of  Generals  Merritt, 
Custer,  and  Deven,  and  the  ofiBcers  and  men  of  their  com- 
mands. They  have  waded  through  mud  and  water  during 
this  continuous  rain,  and  are  all  in  fine  spirits  and  health. 

"  Commodore  Hollins,  of  the  rebel  navy,  was  shot  near 
Gordonsville,  while  attempting  to  make  his  escape  from 
our  advance  in  that  direction. 

"  Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 
"  P.  H.  Sheridan,  Ilajor- General  Commanding.''^ 

Describing  Sheridan's  victories  from  official  despatches, 
the  Army  and  Navy  Journal  says  : 

When  Sheridan  withdrew  from  Harrisonburg,  after  his 
advance  up  the  valley,  he  paused  at  Cedar  creek,  two 
miles  this  side  of  Strasburg.  Early  followed  him  to 
Fisher's  Hill,  an  equal  distance  on  the  other  side.  The 
intervening  space  of  four  miles,  with  the  town  in  the  centre, 
remained  debatable  ground.  Two  or  three  severe  skir- 
mishes, resulting  from  reconnoissances,  the  most  consider- 
able of  which  was  the  affair  of  Thursday,  the  13th,  showed 
that  Early  was  bent  upon  the  renewal  of  active  hostilities. 
That  veteran  warrior  has  proved  himself,  despite  the  dif- 
ference in  years,  quite  as  restless  as  Sheridan,  and  has 
exhibited  a  boldness  which,  at  least  when  viewed  in  the 
light  of  defeat,  amounts  to  absolute  rashness.  Both  his 
famous  raid  through  Maryland  to  Baltimore,  and  his  cam- 
paign againt  Sheridan,  have  displayed  the  same  quality 
of  inordinate  daring.  The  former  was  crowned  with 
complete  success  ;  but  the  latter  with  as  unqualified  dis- 
aster. A  worthy  successor  of  Stonewall  Jackson,  so  far 
as  intrepidity  goes,  he  was  fated  to  meet  a  very  different 
antagonist  in  the  valley  from  those  whom  Jackson  so  easily 
overthrew.  When  he  encountered  a  general  who,  with 
equal  energy,  boldness,  and  skill,  stood  at  the  head  of  an 
army  superior  in  numbers,  Early's  fortunes  declined.  Three 


LIFE   OF    MAJOR-GENERAL   STTERIDAN.  131 

successive  and  severe  defeats  at  Winchester,  Fisher's  Hill, 
and  Cedar  creek,  have  attested  the  fatal  mistakes  in  his 
military  policy.  The  elasticity  with  which  he  recovered, 
after  his  former  defeats,  is  indeed  very  surprising  now, 
and  warns  us  not  to  credit  too  much  the  exultant  stories 
of  his  utter  annihilation.  But  let  him  recuperate  his  army 
as  he  may,  Early's  prestige  for  the  present  is  gone. 

Under   the    impression    that   the    enemy's    army   was 
dispirited,  if  not  essentially  destroyed,  Sheridan  was  ar- 
ranging new  combinations  of  great  importance.     He  had 
sent  the  sixth   corps  to  Front  Royal,  and   made  cavalry 
dispositions   in  the  same  quarter.       Whether  this  move 
was  for  the  purpose  of  transporting  a  part  of  his  force 
to  Grant  by  way  of  the   Manassas  Gap  railroad,  of  which 
he  had  lately  taken  thorough  possession,  or  to  operate 
afresh  "  on  another  line"  east  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  or  what- 
ever its  purpose,  we  need  not  speculate,  because  events 
have  greatly  changed  those  anticipations.     The  fortunate 
interception  of  despatches  disclosed  that  Early  was  still  in 
fighting  condition,  and  had  been  reinforced,  both  with  good 
men  and  good  guns,  from  Richmond,  to  supply  his  large 
losses  in  those  particulars.     Every  preparation  was  made 
to  receive  him,  the  sixth  corps  being  recalled  from  Front 
Royal  to  the  right  of  the  infantry  line.     But  in  spite  of 
this  intelligence,  and    of    Early's    hostile   demonstration, 
Sheridan   determined  to  visit  Washington,  where  he  had 
important  affairs  to  transact.     He  started  thither  on  Sat- 
urday, the  15th,  two  days  after  Thorburn's  severe  affair 
near  Strasburg. 

Our  line  lay  along  the  easterly  bank  of  Cedar  creek, 
with  the  nineteenth  corps  in  front  of  the  bridge  and  ford, 
across  which  the  turnpike  crosses,  the  eighth  corps  on  its 
left,  and  the  sixth  on  its  right.  The  two  former  were 
strongly  intrenched,  and  the  whole  position  was  good. 

The  first  and  third  cavalry  divisions  covered  the  right 
8 


132  LIFE    OF   MAJOR-GENERAL    SHERIDAN. 

flank,  and  Powell's  cavalry  picketed  the  whole  north  fork 
on  the  left  as  far  as  Front  Royal.  Our  line  then  beginning 
on  the  right,  ran  across  the  valley  thus  :  Custer,  Merritt, 
Wright  (Ricketts),  Emory,  Crook,  Powell.  General 
Wright  was  in  command.  Before  dawn  of  Wednesday, 
the  19th,  a  raw  and  misty  morning,  a  heavy  flanking  col- 
umn of  the  enemy,  under  cover  of  the  fog,  gained,  unper- 
ceived,  Crook's  left  and  rear,  captured  nearly  all  his  skir- 
mish line,  and  w^as  fairly  inside  his  intrenchments  before 
a  drum  was  beat,  or  the  scattering  outpost  fire  had 
wakened  the  bewildered  camp  from  its  slumbers.  Sim- 
ultaneously, Early  burst  across  Cedar  creek  in  front, 
carrying  the  ford  and  bridge.  Seven  pieces  of  artillery 
quickly  fell  into  his  hands.  The  rout  of  the  eighth  corps 
was  followed  by  that  of  the  nineteenth,  whose  left  flank 
was  exposed  by  the  breaking  of  the  former.  Eleven  more 
pieces  of  artillery  were  captured,  and  like  the  former,  turned 
upon  our  flying  troops.  Day  broke  upon  a  wretched  scene 
of  scattered  commands.  Our  entire  position  had  been 
turned,  a  thousand  prisoners,  eighteen  cannon,  our  camp 
equipage,  and  other  spoils  captured,  and  the  exultant  enemy 
pressing  us  away  from  the  turnpike,  was  hastening  along 
its  easterly  side  to  Middletown,  whence  our  immense 
trains  were  driving  post-haste  to  Winchester.  A  terrific 
artillery  fire  from  the  other  side  of  Cedar  creek,  and  a 
steady  roll  of  musketry  on  the  hither  side,  threw  conster- 
nation and  death  into  our  ranks.  Here  and  there  subdi- 
visions bravely  contested  the  ground.  At  other  points 
multitudes  of  stragglers  were  breaking  in  panic  to  the  rear. 
The  sixth  corps  were  soon  brought  up  to  cover  the  retreat, 
and  Custer  and  Merritt,  hitherto  not  engaged,  except  in  a 
preliminary  feint  made  by  the  enemy's  cavalry  on  the 
right,  were  sent  across  to  the  support  of  the  left.  The 
line  continued  to  give  way.  The  enemy  seized  Middle- 
town  and  planted  his  batteries  there,  while  our  troops  fell 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL  SHERIDAN.  133 

back  to  Newtown.  There  General  Wright,  who  had  never 
lost  heart  or  hope,  had  resolved  to  make  another  stand, 
determined  yet  to  win  the  day.  Four  miles  from  the  strong 
position  we  had  lost,  the  line  was  once  more  forming, 
during  a  fortunate  lull  in  the  battle. 

At  this  moment,  Sheridan  came  upon  the  field.  He  had 
ridden  at  top  speed  from  Winchester,  where  he  had  ar- 
rived from  Washington,  passing  his  retreating  trains,  his 
ambulances  filled  with  wounded,  and  the  crowds  of  fugi- 
tives who  were  rushing  "  demoralized "  to  the  rear. 
Every  thing  told  him  plainly  that  his  army,  as  he  expresses 
it,  had  been  "driven  in  confusion."  Arriving  at  ten  and 
a-half  o'clock — his  horse  covered  with  foam — he  made 
known  his  presence  to  the  army,  and  was  received  with 
cheers.  The  knowledge  of  the  absence  of  the  head  of  the 
army  had  done  much  hitherto  to  prevent  the  recovery  of 
the  lost  day.  But  now,  Wright's  retreat  had  drawn  the 
main  army  from  the  enemy's  severe  fire,  and  caused  the 
latter  to  follow  him  to  a  new  position.  Early  also  found 
himself  forced  to  take  a  short  interval  of  rest,  in  order  to 
recuperate  his  exhausted  troops,  as  well  as  to  get  them 
well  in  hand  to  confront  our  new  line.  Only  a  few  troops 
of  the  sixth  corps,  were  now  hotly  engaged,  as  the  enemy 
had  ceased  to  press  us  so  severely.  Rest  and  the  post- 
poned breakfast  had  begun  to  suggest  to  our  men  that 
matters  were  not  so  desperate  as  they  seemed.  Once  able 
to  halt  without  being  mowed  down  under  fire,  they  could 
discuss  more  coolly  the  possibility  of  even  driving  the 
enemy.  To  turn  the  'scale,  Sheridan's  opportune  appear- 
ance came,  and  restored  to  his  men  that  confidence  and 
enthusiasm  which  cannot  be  counted  on  in  an  army  except 
when  its  proper  le^ider  is  in  command. 

Until  after  mid-day,  the  lull  in  the  general  battle  continued. 
But  at  one  o'clock,  the  enemy,  having  dragged  his  artillery 
up  to  confront  the  new  line,  began  tossing  shells  with  ac- 


134:  LIFE   OF   MAJOR- GENEEAL   SHERIDAN. 

curacy  into  our  ranks.  The  line  was  left  as  Wright  had 
formed  it,  except  that  Caster's  cavalry  division  had  been 
thrown  across  from  the  left  to  the  right.  It  now  ran 
thus  :  Custer,  Wright,  Emory,  Crook,  Merritt.  At  Front 
Royal,  Powell  remained  quiet,  being  cut  off  from  the  othei? 
troops.  Very  soon  the  enemy  came  up  once  more  on  the 
charge.  A  prolonged  and  terrible  encounter  followed,  the 
main  part  of  which  fell  on  the  nineteenth  and  sixth  corps. 
But  he  no  longer  contended  with  men  surprised  and  be- 
wildered by  a  fierce  daylight  attack,  from  which  his  im- 
petuous rush  had  not  suffered  them  to  recover.  The 
rapidity  of  his  fighting,  fortunate  in  one  respect,  was  fatal 
in  another.  The  lull  which  the  exhaustion  of  his  men 
demanded,  proved  the  cause  of  his  subsequent  reverse. 
Our  troops,  also,  now  had  their  "second  breath,"  and, 
well  posted,  received  the  enemy's  charge  on  equal  terms, 
awake,  alert,  and  expectant.  The  odds  were  in  our  favor, 
and  after  a  desperate  effort,  he  recoiled  to  Middletown. 

Troops  who  could  check  the  enemy  after  such  bitter 
and  continued  reverse,  could  certainly  advance.  Accord- 
ingly, after  an  incessant  duel  of  artillery  and  musketry, 
the  charge  was  ordered.  Between  three  and  four  o'clock 
the  whole  line  went  forward,  infantry  and  cavalry  alike. 
A  terrific  fire  greeted  them  from  Middletown.  But  they 
pressed  on,  and  despite  an  obstinate  and  sanguinary  re- 
sistance, carried  the  village,  where  the  enemy  had  made 
visil)le  preparations  to  stay,  and  put  him  to  flight.  The 
hard  work  was  all  over,  and  the  day  substantially  won. 
It  only  remained  to  pursue  and  to  gather  up  the  spoils 
their  hasty  flight  would  compel  the  fugitives  to  relinquish. 
Our  twenty-four  lost  guns,  camp  equipage,  and  lost 
wagons,  ambulances,  and  horses,  were  retaken.  The 
cavalry  forded  Cedar  creek  and  kept  on  to  Strasburg, 
where,  in  his  hurried  retreat,  the  enemy  had  got  his  wagons 
and  most  of  his  artillery  into  an  inextricable  jumble  along 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  135 

the  road.  Oa  our  approach  the  riders  cut  their  traces  and 
rode  away,  abandoning  every  thing  to  us  without  a  strug- 
gle. The  capture  of  flags,  cannon,  and  prisoners,  was  now 
mere  play  compared  with  the  preceding  work  of  the  day. 
On  account  of  the  approach  of  night,  and  the  complete 
exhaustion  of  our  troops,  however,  there  was  no  elaborate 
pursuit.  Our  infantry  remained  in  the  old  camps  at  Cedar 
creek,  a  part  being  thrown  out  two  miles  further,  to 
Strasburg.  Some  of  the  cavalry  went  as  far  as  Fisher's 
Hill,  but  none  pursued  more  than  three  or  four  miles  be- 
yond Cedar  creek.  The  next  day  the  cavalry  went  up  the 
valley  as  far  as  Woodstock,  and  made  more  captures  of 
stragglers  and  abandoned  material.  But  the  enemy  was 
far  ahead,  and  had  made  good  his  retreat  to  Mount  Jack- 
son. The  cavalry  therefore  returned  to  the  neighborhood 
of  Fisher's  Hill. 

In  every  aspect  the  victory  was  complete  and  decisive. 
The  staggering  blow  it  has  inflicted  on  the  enemy's  re- 
sources will  be  evident  from  considering  the  simple  fact 
that,  wherever  he  loses  man  for  man  with  us,  be  fatally 
weakens  himself.  Add  the  loss  in  cannon,  small  arms, 
and  ammunition,  and  especially  the  loss  in  prestige  and 
morale,  and  the  importance  of  the  affair  at  Cedar  creek 
will  be  readily  seen. 

OFFICIAL  DESPATCHES  FROM  MR.  STANTOK". 

"  War  Department,  Washington,     } 
"Thursday,  October  20th,  1864—10.45  a.m.) 

''  Major- General  Dix  : 

"Another  great  battle  was  fought  yesterday  at  Cedar 
creek,  threatening  at  first  a  great  disaster,  but  finally  re- 
sulting in  a  victory  for  the  Union  forces  under  General 
Sheridan,  more  splendid  than  any  heretofore  achieved. 
The  Department  was  advised  yesterday  evening  of  the 
commencement  of  the  battle  by  the  following  telegrams  ; 


136  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

'  Rectortown,  Tirginia,     } 
'Wednesday,  October  l^th,  1864— 4p.m.]' 
'  Major -General  H.  W.  Halleck,  Chief  of  Staff : 

*  Heavy  cannonading  has  recommenced  in  the  valley, 
and  is  now  going  on.         C.  C.  Augur,  Major-General.'' 


'  Harper's  Ferry,  Virginia — 6.40  p.m.) 
'Wednesday,  October  Idth,  1864.      j 
'  Hon.  E.  M.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  War  : 

'  Firing  at  the  front  has  been  continuous  during  the  day. 
The   direction  seemed  at  intervals  to   be  to  the  left  of 
Winchester,  as  if  at  Berry's  ferry. 
'  Ko  news  from  the  front. 

'John  D.  Stevenson,  Brigadier- General.^ 

'Harper's  Ferry,  Virginia — 8.45  p.m.) 
'Wednesday,  October  I9th,  1864.      j 
'  Hon.  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  War : 

'  The  enemy  attacked  our  army  with  great  impetuosity 
this  morning  at  daylight. 

'  The  attack  was  made  on  the  left  of  the  eighth  corps, 
and  was  at  first  successful,  they  capturing  some  guns, 
prisoners,  and  wagons.  Our  line  was  reformed,  and 
heavy  fighting  continued  through  the  day. 

'  Sheridan  was  reported  at  Winchester  this  morning, 
and  went  to  the  front. 

'  The  particulars  received  are  not  official,  and  are  not 
favorable,  though  no  serious  disaster  could  have  occurred 
without  direct  news  from  Sheridan.     Respectfully, 

'John  D.  Stevenson,  Brigadier- General.''   . 

"  Matters  remained  in  the  doubtful  state  represented  by 
the  foregoing  telegrams  until  this  morning  at  9.30,  when 
the  following  telegram  was  received,  unofficially,  reporting 
the  great  victory  won  by  Sheridan's  army : 

'  Harper's  Ferry,  Virginia,     ) 

'Thursday,  October  20th,  1864—9.30  a.m.) 

'  IN'ews  from  Sheridan's  headquarters  at  midnight,  is  to 

the  effect  that  the  enemy,  surprised  our  forces  yesterday 

morning,  driving  the   command  in  some   confusion  this 

side  of  Newtown,  capturing  artillery  and  prisoners. 

'  Sheridan  arrived  in  the  field,  reorganized  our  forces, 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  137 

drove  the  enemy  beyond  Strasburg,  capturing,  it  is  re- 
ported, forty-three  pieces  of  artillery,  one  hundred  wagons 
and  ambulances,  and  some  two  thousand  prisoners. 

'  The  rout  of  the  enemy  is  said  to  be  complete.  This 
is  not  official,  but  I  think  reliable. 

'J.  D.  Stevenson,  Brigadier- General.^ 

"A  few  minutes  later  the  following  official  report  of  his 
victory  was  received  from  Major-General  Sheridan  : 

*  Cedar  Creek,         \ 
'Wednesday,  October  l^th,  18r34— 10  p.m.  ) 
*  To  Lieutenant- General  Grant,  City  Point  : 

'  I  have  the  honor  to  report  that  my  army  at  Cedar 
creek  was  attacked  this  morning  before  daylight,  and  my 
left  was  turned  and  driven  in  confusion. 

*  In  fact,  most  of  the  line  was  driven  in  confusion,  with 
the  loss  of  twenty  pieces  of  artillery. 

'  I  hastened  from  Winchester,  where  I  was  on  my  re- 
turn from  Washington,  and  found  the  armies  between  Mid- 
dletown  and  Newtown,  having  been  driven  back  about  four 
miles.  I  here  took  the  affair  in  hand,  and  quickly  uniting 
the  corps,  formed  a  compact  line  of  battle  just  in  time  to 
repulse  an  attack  of  the  enemy,  which  was  handsomely 
done  at  about  one  p.m. 

'At  three  p.m.,  after  some  changes  of  the  cavalry  from 
the  left  to  the  right  flank,  I  attacked  with  great  vigor, 
driving  and  routing  the  enemy,  capturing,  according  to 
the  last  report,  forty-three  pieces  of  artillery,  and  very 
many  prisoners. 

'  I  do  not  know  yet  the  number  of  my  casualties,  or 
the  losses  of  the  enemy. 

*  Wagons,  trains,  ambulances,  and  caissons,  in  large 
numbers,  are  in  our  possession. 

*  They  also  burned  some  of  their  trains.  General 
Raraseur  is  a  prisoner  in  our  hands,  severely  and  perhaps 
mortally  wounded. 

'  I  have  to  regret  the  loss  of  General  Bidwell,  killed, 
and  Generals  W^-igbt,  Grover,  and  Pvicketts,  wounded. 
Wright  is  slightly  wounded. 

'  Afifairs  at  times  looked  badly,  but  by  the  gallantry 
of  our  brave  officers  and  men,  disaster  has  been  converted 
into  a  splendid  victory. 


138  LIFE    OF    MAJOll-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

'  Darkness  ap^ain  intervened  to  shut  off  greater  results. 
'I  now  occupy  Strasburg. 

'  As  soon  as  obtained  I  will  send  you  further  particu- 
lars. P.  H.  SheridAn,  Major- General.'' 

"The  battle  was  fought  on  the  same  day,  19th  of  the 
month,  that  witnessed  Sheridan's  victory  in  September. 

"■  What  the  numbers  were  opposed  to  General  Sheridan 
are  not  yet  reported  to  the  Department,  but  the  boldness, 
vigor  and  success  of  the  attack,  strongly  indicate  that  a 
heavy  reinforcement  had  been  sent  from  Richmond,  with 
the  expectation  of  fulfilling  Longstreet's  boast  to  smash 
up  Sheridan. 

"  Longstreet  was  known  to  be  in  the  valley,  and  had 
assumed  command  of  the  rebel  army,  and  confident  hopes 
of  an  overwhelming  disaster  to  the  Union  army  were 
boastfully  expressed  for  several  days  back  by  the  rebel 
adherents  in  "Washington  and  Baltimore. 

"  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  War.^^ 


"War  Department,  Washington,  D.  C.,\ 
''Friday,  Oct  21s/,  1864—11.40  a.m.      ) 
"  Major-General  Dix  : 

"  The  following  telegram,  received  this  morning,  con- 
tains further  particulars  of  the  battle  of  Cedar  creek : 

'  Cedar  Creek,  Tirginia — 11.30  a.m.,) 

'Thursday,  October  20//?,  1864.      j 

'  Lieutenant- General  U.  S.  Grant,  City  Point  : 

'  We  have  again  been  favored  by  a  great  victory,  woq 
from  disaster,  by  the  gallantry  of  our  officers  and  men. 

'  The  attack  on  the  enemy  was  made  about  three  p.m., 
by  a  left  half-wheel  of  the  whole  line,  with  a  division  of 
cavalry,  turning  each  flank  of  the  enemy,  the  whole  line 
advancing, 

*  The  enemy,  after  a  stubborn  resistance,  broke  and 
fled,  and  were  pushed  with  vigor.  The  artillery  captured 
will  probably  be  over  fifty  pieces. 

'  This,  of  course,  includes  what  were  captured  from  our 
troops  in  the  early  morning.  At  least  sixteen  hundred 
prisoners  have  been  brought  in  ;  also  wagons  and  ambu- 
lances in  large  numbers. 

'  This  morning  the  cavalry  made  a  dash  at  Fisher's  Hill 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  139 

and   carried  it,  the  enemy  having  fled  during  the  night, 
leaving  only  a  small  rear-guard. 

'  I  have  to  regret  the  loss  of  many  valuable  officers 
killed  and  wounded,  among  them  Colonel  Joseph  Thor- 
burn,  commanding  a  division  of  Crook's  command,  killed  ; 
Colonel  J.  Howard  Kitchen,  commanding  a  brigade, 
wounded  ;  Colonel  R.  G.  McKinzie,  commanding  a  brig- 
ade, wounded  severely,  but  would  not  leave  the  field.  I 
cannot  yet  give  exact  details. 

'  Many  of  our  men  captured  in  the  morning  have  made 
their  escape,  and  are  coming  in. 

'  Ramseur,  commanding  a  division  in  Early's  army,  died 
this  morning. 

'  P.  H.  Sheridan,  3Iajor-  General  Commanding. ' 

"  General  Grant's  appreciation  of  the  victory  at  Cedar 
creek  is  expressed  in  the  following  despatch  : 

'  City  Point,  Thursday,  October  20th,  1864 — 8  p.m. 
*  Hon.  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  War. 

I  had  a  salute  of  one  hundred  guns  from  each  of  the 
armies  here  fired  in  honor  of  Sheridan's  last  victory. 
Turning  what  bid  fair  to  be  disaster  into  a  glorious  vic- 
tory, stamps  Sheridan,  what  I  always  thought  him,  one 
of  the  ablest  of  generals. 

'XJ.  S.  Grant,  Lieutenant- General.'' 

"  The  medical  director  reports  that  seven  hundred  and 
seventy  slightly  wounded  have  reached  Winchester  from 
the  field. 

''  All  the  wounded  that  are  able  to  bear  transportation 
will  be  forwarded  immediately  to  Martinsburg. 

"The  telegraph  line  is  now  working  to  Atlanta,  but  no 
jate  reports  have  been  received  by  the  Department. 

"Edwin  M.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  War.'^ 

BAID   TOWARD  RICHMOND. 

The  value  of  the  movements  of  General  Sheridan  in 
closing  the  campaign  that  resulted  in  the  fall  of  Richmond 
and  of  the  rebellion,  is  thus  summed  up  by  the  Army  and 
Navy  Journal  of  March  25th,  1865  : 

"  His  despatches  give  an  account  of  his  success  up  to 
the  time  of  reaching  Columbia.  On  the  15th  instant  he 
reported  from  the  bridge  of  the  Richmond  and  Fredericks 


1^0  LIFE    OF    MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

burg  railroad,  across  the  South  Anna  river,  that,  having 
destroyed  the  James  river  canal  as  far  to  the  east  as 
Goochland,  he  marched  up  the  Virginia  Central  railroad 
at  Tollsville,  and  destroved  it  down  to  Beaver  Dam 
station,  totally  breaking  up  fifteen  miles  of  the  road. 
General  Custer  was  then  sent  to  Ashland,  and  General 
Deven  to  the  South  Anna  bridges — all  of  which  have  been 
destroyed.  General  Sheridan  says  the  amount  of  property 
destroyed  on  his  march  is  enormous.  The  enemy  at 
tempted  to  prevent  his  burning  the  Central  railroad 
bridge  over  the  South  Anna,  but  the  fifth  United  States 
cavalry  charged  up  to  the  bridge,  and  about  thirty  men 
dashed  across  on  foot,  driving  off  the  enemy  and  capturing 
three  pieces  of  artillery,  twenty-pounder  Parrotts. 

"  At  noon  of  the  10th,  Sheridan's  advance  arrived  on 
the  north  bank  of  the  Pamunkey,  a  few  miles  from  White 
House,  and  soon  crossed  the  river.  An  ofiicer  of  Grant's 
staff  states  that  Sheridan  lost  about  fifty  men  and  two 
ofiicers,  all  told.  His  men  are  mounted,  excepting  about 
two  hundred  and  fifty.  They  captured  many  horses  and 
mules,  and  shot  all  the  broken-down  animals.  Nearly 
two  hundred  negroes  came  in  with  him.  Women  have 
travelled  on  foot,  carrying  children  two  years  old,  and  kept 
up  with  his  cavalry  all  the  way  from  Columbia.  At 
Charlottesville,  he  was  obliged  to  station  a  rear  guard  to 
prevent  the  negroes  following  him  by  hundreds,  as  he  was 
at  that  time  unable  to  feed  them,  or  to  afford  the  slightest 
protection.  He  advanced  to  within  fifteen  miles  of  Lynch- 
burg, and  came  within  twelve  of  Richmond.  ^N'ot  a 
bridge  is  left  on  the  James  between  the  two  cities ;  and 
not  a  railroad  bridge  between  Staunton  and  Charlottes- 
ville. His  destruction  of  the  canal  is  thorough.  One 
viaduct  could  not  be  rebuilt  in  six  months  in  time  of 
peace.  In  one  or  two  places  the  river  was  turned  into 
the  canal,  and  washed  it  out  fifteen  feet  below  the  level. 


LIFE    OF    MAJOR-GENERAL   SIIERIDAX.  141 

"  The  enemy's  accounts  say  that  our  troops  followGcl  the 
Orange  and  Alexandria  railroad  as  far  as  Buffalo  river, 
burning  the  railroad  bridge  at  that  point.  Every  bridge 
between  Charlottesville  and  Buffalo,  a  distance  of  more 
than  forty  miles,  has  been  destroyed,  and  much  of  the 
track  torn  up,  though  the  extent  of  the  damage  done  has 
not  yet  been  ascertained.  The  nearest  approach  they 
made  to  Lynchburg  was  New  Glasgow,  seventeen  miles 
distant,  where  a  small  party  of  them  burnt  the  railroad 
depot.  Our  forces  commenced  at  Bent  Creek  the  work  of 
destruction  to  the  canal,  which  is  very  badly  damaged 
from  about  twenty-five  miles  below  Lynchburg  to  Co- 
lumbia, and  further  down  toward  Richmond.  Every  lock 
on  the  canal  is  said  to  have  been  destroyed.  In  several 
places  the  banks  have  been  blown  away.  The  aqueduct 
at  Columbia  is  badly  damaged.  The  destruction  of  pri- 
vate property  along  the  route  of  the  raiders  is  represented 
to  be  immense." 

FROM    GENERAL    SHERIDAN. 

''  War  Department,  Washington,) 
"  Fridaij,  March  U— 3  P.  M.  | 
"  Major- Greneral  Sheridan  reports  on  the  15th  instant, 
from  the  bridge  of  the  Richmond  and  Fredericksburg 
railroad  across  the  South  Anna  river,  that,  having  de- 
stroyed the  James  river  canal  as  far  to  the  east  as  Gooch- 
land, he  mached  up  to  the  Virginia  Central  railroad  at 
Tollsville  and  destroyed  it  down  to  Beaver  Dam  station, 
totally  destroying  fifteen  miles  of  the  road.  General 
Custer  was  then  sent  to  Ashland,  and  General  Deven  to 
the  South  Anna  bridges,  all  of  which  have  been  destroyed. 
General  Sheridan  says  the  amount  of  property  destroyed 
in  his  march  is  enormous.  The  enemy  attempted  to  pre- 
vent the  burning  of  the  Central  railroad  bridge  over  the 
South  Anna,  but  the  fifth  United  States  cavalry  charged 
up  to  the  bridge,  and  about  thirty  men  dashed  across  on 
foot,  driving  oft"  the  enemy  and  capturing  three  pieces  of 
artillery,  twenty-pounder  Parrotts. 

"  C.  A.  Dana,  Assistant  Secretary  of  IVa?*." 


142  LIFE    OF    MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

SHERIDAN'S  PART  IN  THE  FALL  OF  THE  REBEL  CAPITAL. 

Soon  after  the  failure  of  Lee's  attack,  on  the  morning  of 
March  25th,  1865,  the  evidences  of  his  intended  retrograde 
multiplied.  Sheridan  accordingly  hurried  through  to  the 
left  of  our  lines,  and  Grant  prepared  to  strike  the  enemy 
before  he  should  get  away  from  his  capital. 

Sheridan,  on  Sunday,  the  26th  of  March,  reached  City 
Point.  On  Monday,  the  2Yth,  he  took  position  in  Gregg's 
old  cavalry  camp,  on  the  left  and  rear  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac.  At  one  point  the  enemy  opened  on  his  column 
with  shell,  and  this,  with  the  attack  on  Getty's  front  in 
the  sixth  corps,  which  was  well  met,  occasioned  the 
principal  firing  of  the  day.  But,  on  the  same  day,  orders 
were  received  at  the  various  field-hospitals  to  remove  the 
sick  and  wounded  to  City  Point,  and  to  keep  the  hospitals 
in  readiness  for  any  emergency  that  might  arise.  At 
twelve  o'clock  at  night  the  whole  Army  of  the  Potomac 
was  put  under  marching  orders. 

Sheridan's  cavalry  took  the  extreme  left,  and  made  a 
wide  detour  to  Dinwiddle  Court  House.  Warren's  fifth 
corps  came  next,  then  Humphreys'  second.  The  sixth 
and  ninth  corps  still  held  the  lines  around  Petersburg. 
On  the  27th,  troops  were  selected  from  the  twenty-fourth 
and  twenty-fifth  corps — Ord's  Army  of  the  James — and 
the  same  night  marched  across  the  river,  leaving  the  re- 
mainder of  the  two  corps  to  garrison  our  position  north 
of  the  James. 

At  six  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  29th,  the  cavalrj 
left  camp,  marching  down  the  Jerusalem  plank-road  to 
Reams'  station  ou  the  Weldon  railroad.    Its  new  organi- 


LIFE  OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  143 

zation  divided  it  into  two  wings,  Crook  commanding  the 
right,  and  Mcrritt  the  left.  Crook  was  in  advance. 
Custer  brought  up  the  rear,  guarding  the  trains.  The 
roads  were  bad.  At  half  past  nine,  Rowanty  creek  was 
reached  at  Malone's  bridge,  and  the  bridge  found  to  be 
destroyed.  The  creek  was  so  difficult  of  approach  as  not 
to  be  fordable.  Accordingly,  the  column  was  delayed 
four  hours  until  a  bridge  could  be  built.  Then  the  ad- 
vance division  got  across,  aud  pushed  straight  for  Din- 
widdle. The  bad  roads  delayed  the  march,  and  our  trains 
were  deeply  mired.  A  party,  about  eighty  strong,  of 
the  sixteenth  North  Carolina,  tried  to  impede  our  progress 
by  felling  trees ;  but  they  were  quickly  dispersed  by  a 
charge  of  the  twenty-first  Pennsylvania,  of  Irvin  Gregg's 
division.  A  few  prisoners  were  captured.  The  town 
was  now  occupied,  and  communication  opened  with  War- 
ren's corps  on  the  right.  It  rained  a  little  on  the  night 
of  the  29th,  and  very  hard  all  day  on  the  30th.  The 
roads  were  consequently  made  so  bad  as  to  block  the 
trains,  and  a  great  part  of  Sheridan's  force  was  employed 
in  guarding  them.  The  rest  moved  up  to  the  Boydton. 
road,  according  to  the  plan  of  action  already  arranged. 

Early  in  the  morning  Sheridan  connected  his  right  with 
Warren's  left,  near  the  Boydton  plank-road.  The  enemy 
was  found  to  have  a  very  strong  line  of  intrenchments 
already  erected  to  cover  the  position  known  as  Five 
Forks.  Merritt's  corps  was  therefore  sent  out  in  this 
direction  to  turn  the  enemy's  right.  The  advance,  Deven's 
brigade,  soon  encountered  the  enemy's  cavalry,  who  were 
driven  back  to  the  works.  Then  the  enemy's  infantry  in 
turn  drove  back  our  cavalry,  and  the  latter  pushed  out 
once  more  to  find  the  enemy's  left,  confident  that  there 
must  be  an  end  to  his  line  somewhere,  if  they  could  only 
find  it.  The  enemy's  right  was  commanded  by  Ander- 
son, and  Pickett's  division  of  Anderson's  corps  held  the 


144  LIFE    OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

extreme  right.  His  intrenchments  completely  covered 
the  White  Oak  road,  which  runs  from  the  Boydton  road 
to  the  Southside  railroad.  From  the  White  Oak  road  up 
towards  Hatcher's  run,  the  enemy's  troops  were  in  strong 
force.  He  baffled  all  our  attempts  on  Thursday  to  turn 
him  by  cavalry,  as  his  works,  manned  by  infantry,  checked 
us  at  all  points. 

But  the  movements  of  our  own  main  body  prepared  for 
the  greater  contest  of  Friday.  Ayres'  division,  of  the 
fifth  corps,  was  moved  clear  across  the  Boydton  road  as 
far  as  the  White  Oak  road.  Griffin  and  Crawford  fol- 
lowed. The  second  corps  by  noon  had  advanced  a  mile 
and  a-half,  to  where  it  could  have  a  plain  view  of  the 
enemy's  main  works.  Birney's  and  Foster's  divisions  also 
pushed  forward,  and  occupied  the  enemy's  picket-lines 
after  a  very  smart  skirmish.  Artillery  was  used  here  by 
the  enemy,  and  also  in  front  of  Smyth's  brigade,  in  the 
advance  of  the  second  corps.  Our  total  losses  during  the 
day  were  less  than  two  hundred.  The  fifth  corps  lost 
twenty-six,  and  the  other  corps  perhaps  averaged  the 
same.  At  the  close  of  the  day,  the  fifth  corps  occupied 
a  position  about  a  mile  north  of  the  junction  of  the 
Quaker  and  Boydton  roads.  During  the  day  it  had 
pushed  on  nearly  due  west  about  three-fourths  of  a  mile, 
and  lay  fronting  northward,  with  the  pickets  of  Ayres' 
division  within  five  hundred  yards  of  the  White  Oak  road, 
at  a  point  between  two  and  three  miles  west  of  its  inter- 
section with  the  Boydton  road.  To  the  right  of  Ayres 
was  Crawford,  and  on  Crawford's  right.  Griffin.  On  the 
right  of  the  fifth  corps  lay  the  second,  which  now  had  its 
right  near  Hatcher's  run,  while  its  left  rested  on  the 
Boydton  plank-road  near  Burgess's  Tavern,  about  one 
mile  south  of  the  bridge  across  Hatcher's  run.  Sheridan 
continued  to  cover  our  left  flank,  and  remained  at  Din- 


LIFE   OF    MAJOR-GENEllAL   SRERIDAN.  145 

widdie,  his  sharp  skirmishing  having  told   him  that  the 
enemy  would  risk  a  severe  battle  for  the  railroad. 

The  second  division  lay  on  Stony  creek,  southwest  of 
Dinwiddle,  Smith's,  Davies',  and  Gregg's  brigades  all 
supporting,  and  holding  the  left  of  Sheridan's  line.  Next 
to  Davies,  and  northeasterly,  lay  Fitzhugh's  brigade  of 
Davies'  division,  facing  southeast,  and  next  beyond, 
Stagg's  Michigan  brigade  of  the  same  division  was  posted 
on  Gravelly  run,  six  miles  from  Dinwiddle.  About  two 
miles  from  Dinwiddie  was  Gibbs'  (third)  brigade  of 
Davies'  division.  Soon  after  noon,  the  fifth  corps  having 
been  driven  back,  the  enemy  attacked  Smith's  brigade  in 
force,  and  a  few  prisoners  were  taken  on  each  side  ;  but 
our  troops  held  their  ground.  Davies'  brigade,  on  the 
right  of  Smith,  next  received  the  enemy's  attention.  It 
held  the  bridge  across  Stony  creek.  The  brigade  stub- 
bornly resisted,  but  the  enemy  forded  the  creek,  flanked 
it,  and  forced  it  back  with  severe  loss.  The  tenth  and 
twenty-fourth  New  York  were  heavily  engaged,  and 
many  officers  were  wounded.  The  enemy,  having  crossed 
the  ford,  now  attacked  Sheridan's  left  centre  once  more  in 
force,  and  drove  it  back.  The  commands  were  faced  into 
new  positions  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and  reinforcements 
hurried  forward.  By  five  o'clock  the  greater  part  of  both 
divisions  had  been  repulsed  and  driven  back  several  miles 
to  the  Boydton  road,  while  Gibbs'  had  fallen  back  to 
about  a  mile  from  Dinwiddie.  But  now  the  enemy  had 
encountered  our  entire  force.  Merritt's  troops  were  re- 
formed, and  Custer's  division,  with  Capehart  on  the  left, 
and  Pennington  on  the  right,  held  a  firm  position.  The 
enemy,  who  had  been  reinforced  with  a  part  of  Pickett's 
and  Johnson's  divisions — the  troops  employed  against  the 
fifth  corps — came  down  with  a  furious  charge,  cheering 
and  gallantly  advancing.  Yery  hard  fighting  took  place 
here.     But  our  artillery  in  position,  and  our  very  large 


146  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENEEAL   SHERIDAN". 

force  of  cavalry,  now  rallied,  and  ably  handled  by  Sheri- 
dan in  person,  eventually  forced  him  to  desist.  A  few 
desperate  charges  left  our  men  immovable,  and  the  enemy, 
well  content  with  his  day's  work,  drew  off  to  the  woods. 
-Our  forces  immediately  intrenched. 

The  fifth  corps  did  not  long  pause  on  the  Boydton  road. 
When  the  enemy  had  ceased  the  pursuit,  it  was  rallied 
again.  Griffin's  division  took  the  new  advance,  and  with 
Chamberlain's  brigade  leading,  and  Bartlett  and  Gregory 
in  close  support,  soon  passed  over  the  abandoned  ground. 
The  enemy,  who  was  now  chiefly  engaged  with  Sheridan, 
fell  back  before  our  men.  The  whole  ground  was  re- 
gained, with  sharp  fighting  and  marching.  It  was  then 
designed  to  abandon  a  part  of  it  once  more.  But  Griffin's 
division,  desiring  to  capture  the  earthwork  from  which 
the  enemy  had  issued,  it  was  moved  on,  carried  the  work, 
and  took  position  on  the  White  Oak  road,  east  of  Five 
Forks. 

THE   BATTLE   OF  FIVE  FORKS. 

Sheridan  had  been  placed  in  command  of  all  the  cavalry 
and  of  the  fifth  corps  by  Grant,  who  had  reason  to  believe 
that  this  was  the  best  way  to  prevent  the  disasters  of  the 
day  preceding  from  being  repeated.  He  now  controlled 
nearly  four  divisions  of  cavalry  and  three  of  infantry,  a 
force  not  far  from  thirty  thousand  strong,  and  of  double 
the  strength  which  the  enemy  could  concentrate  against 
him  at  Five  Forks,  while  our  army  threatened  the  whole 
length  of  the  protracted  line  from  Dinwiddle  to  Peters- 
burg. Lee  is  said  to  have  had  only  two  divisions  at  the 
point  attacked  by  Sheridan.  The  latter's  plan  seems  to 
have  been  to  break  through  the  enemy's  line  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  enclose  Five  Forks  and  its  garrison,  and  to 
capture  them.  He  was  completely  and  gloriously  suc- 
cessful.    And  he  deserves  great  credit  for  having  formed 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GEXERAL   SHERIDAX.  147 

and  carried  out  an  actual  tactical  plan,  and  not  a  mere 
plungiug  of  troops  forward  in  questionable  experiment. 

The  cavalry  started  for  their  appointed  positions  at 
daybreak  of  Saturday,  Custer  and  Deven  slowly  driving 
the  enemy  toward  the  left  of  their  works  on  the  White 
Oak  road.  These  divisions  now  dismounted,  and  fought 
with  carbines.  The  brigades  of  Gregg  and  Mackenzie 
w^ere  kept  in  the  saddle,  so  as  to  move  rapidly  on  the 
flank  of  the  enemy.  In  this  way  Sheridan  worked  his 
men  steadily  up  to  the  enemy's  intrenchments  on  all 
sides.  The  enemy  fell  slowly  back  through  the  broken 
country  to  his  main  position,  delivering  a  terrific  fire  upon 
our  men,  who  fell  in  great  numbers.  Still,  however, 
Sheridan  kept  his  men  up  to  the  task,  and  gradually  got 
all  bis  forces  well  into  position,  with  a  division  or  more 
well  round  upon  the  enemy's  flank  and  rear,  and  the  rest 
of  his  troops  pressing  slowly  and  with  much  loss  upon 
the  front  of  the  works.  And  no\v  came  the  grand  attack 
of  all  our  forces.  Warren's  corps  had,  after  its  repulse 
of  the  day  before  to  the  Boydton  road,  and  the  repulse 
of  the  cavalry  to  Dinwiddle,  moved  to  the  Butler  House, 
and  thence  on  the  road  toward  Ford's  station.  About 
three  o'clock  on  Saturday,  the  fifth  corps  was  ordered  for- 
ward to  support  the  cavalry,  and  marched  from  Boisseau's 
house  on  the  Boydton  road,  until  it  halted,  facing  obliquely 
the  White  Oak  road,  with  Ayres  on  the  left,  Crawford  in 
the  centre,  and  Griffin  on  the  right.  The  corps  was  now 
manoeuvred  so  as  to  execute  what  custom  has  allowed  to 
be  a  "left  wheel"  of  the  line  of  battle,  Ayres'  division 
being  a  sort  of  pivot,  with  Griffin  as  the  outer  flank. 
Very  little  regularity,  however,  was  observed  in  this 
movement.  The  enemy  fell  back  slowly  and  stubbornly 
at  first,  and  then,  at  five  o'clock,  comprehending  the  dan- 
gerous position  in  which  he  had  been  placed,  made  a  de- 
cisive stand.  For  two  hours  one  of  the  most  terrific 
9 


148  LIFE   OF   MAJOPw-GEXERAL   SHERIDAN". 

contests  of  the  war  went  on.  The  cavalry  pressed  on  one 
flank,  and  Griffin  led  the  fifth  corps  in  person  on  the  other. 
The  enemy  were  few  in  numbers,  but  fought  with  gal- 
lantry worthy  of  a  better  cause. 

Strongly  intrenched,  and  with  a  battery  in  position, 
they  raked  our  brave  columns  with  the  fire  of  hell.  Sev- 
eral times  our  men,  heroic  as  they  were,  staggered  back 
from  the  intrenchments,  appalled  at  the  slaughter,  and  it 
seemed  that  another  would  be  added  to  the  list  of  unhappy 
attempts  of  the  army.  But  Sheridan  was  determined  not 
to  fail.  He  lent  his  personal  presence  to  all  parts  of  the 
field,  and  by  turns  cheered,  urged,  and  drove  his  men. 
At  length  our  troops  had  surrounded  the  enemy  on  all 
sides,  and  completely  exhausted  him.  They  swarmed 
over  his  parapets.  Great  havoc  had  already  been  made 
in  his  own  ranks.  Many  of  his  officers  had  been  killed. 
Wearied  and  decimated,  and  seeing  it  useless  to  try  to 
check  us,  the  enemy  broke  to  the  rear  through  the  only 
outlet  left  him.  Our  overwhelming  forces  rushed  on  him 
at  once,  and  another  fierce  struggle  resulted.  By  half- 
past  seven  o'clock  the  battle  was  over.  About  four  thou- 
sand prisoners  had  been  captured,  four  or  eight  cannon, 
an  ambulance  and  baggage  train,  several  thousand  muskets, 
and  twenty  or  thirty  flags.  Custer's  and  Mackenzie's 
divisions  pressed  on  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy,  and  picked 
up  many  stragglers  and  fugitives. ' 

About  nine  o'clock,  the  joyful  intelligence  of  victory 
arrived  at  Grant's  headquarters.  Miles'  division  pushed 
on  toward  Sheridan  in  the  evening.  In  order  to  co- 
operate with  Sheridan  somewhat,  a  general  cannonade 
was  ordered  along  our  front,  and  at  ten  o'clock  at  night  it 
opened.  A  terrific  artillery  action  resulted,  not  surpassed 
in  intensity  during  the  siege.  On  some  parts  of  the  line 
there  were  also  demonstrations  by  infantry,  particularly  on 
the  second  corps  front.     From  ten  to  four  the  artillery 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  119 

engagement  was  continued  with  great  fury.  The  oilier 
main  event  of  the  day  was  the  removal  of  General 
Warren  from  the  command  of  the  fifth  corps  by  General 
Sheridan. 

FALL  or  RICHMOND  AND  PETERSBURG. 

On  Sunday  afternoon,  April  2d,  1865,  Lee,  finding  his 
army,  after  a  gallant  and  thorough  battle,  no  longer  able  to 
maintain  its  positions,  gave  orders  for  the  evacuation  of 
Richmond  and  Petersburg.  This  was  accomplished  the 
same  night  and  early  next  day  our  forced  pushed  into  both 
cities. 

Sheridan's  columns  still  pressed  the  enemy,  making 
new  captures.  General  Grant,  who  had  been  at  Peters- 
burg for  two  days,  received,  on  the  night  of  the  fifth,  a 
despatch  from  Sheridan,  at  Jettersville,  which  stated  that 
Lee  was  probably  at  Amelia  Court  House  on  the  same 
day.  Jettersville  is  in  Amelia  county,  about  half  way 
between  Burksville  and  Amelia  Court  House,  on  the  Dan- 
ville railroad.  On  the  fifth,  Davis'  cavalry  brigade  cap- 
tured five  guns,  two  hundred  wagons,  eight  or  nine  battle- 
flags,  and  a  number  of  prisoners.  General  Sheridan,  in 
the  heat  of  victory,  and  desirous  that  others  should 
employ  the  tremendous  energy  which  characterizes  him, 
added  the  following  significant  words  to  Grant:  "I  wish 
you  were  here  yourself.  I  feel  confident  of  our  capturing 
the  army  of  Northern  Yirginia,  if  we  exert  ourselves.  I 
see  no  escape  for  Lee." 

And  there  was  none.     He  was  captured  from  that  hour. 

OFFICIAL    REPORT   OF    GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

Cavalry  Headquarters,  May  16,  1865. 

General  : — I  have  the  honor  to  submit  the  following 

narrative  of  the   operations   of  my  command  during  the 

recent  campaign  in  front  of  Petersburg  and  Richmond, 

terminating  with   the  surrender   of  the  rebel   army  of 


150  LIFE   OF   MAJOK-QEXERAL   SHERIDAN. 

Korthern  Virginia  at  Appomattox  Court  House,  Virginia, 
on  April  9,  1865. 

On  Marcli  26,  my  command,  consisting  of  the  first  and 
third  cavalry  divisions,  under  the  immediate  command  of 
Brevet  Major-General  Wesley  Merritt,  crossed  the  James 
river  by  the  bridge  at  Jones'  landing,  having  marched 
from  Winchester,  in  the  Shenandoah  valley,  via  White 
House,  on  the  Pamunkey  river. 

On  March  2t,  this  command  went  into  camp  at  Hancock 
station,  on  the  military  railroad  in  front  of  Petersburg, 
and  on  the  same  day  the  second  cavalry  division,  which 
had  been  serving  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  re- 
ported to  me  under  the  command  of  Major-General 
George  Crook. 

The  effective  force  of  these  divisions  was  as  follows  : 

General  Merritt's  command  first  and  third .  divis- 
ions,   5, TOO 

General  Crook's  command,  second  division, 3,300 

Total  effective  force, 9,000 

With  this  force  I  moved  out  on  the  29th  of  March,  in 
conjunction  with  the  armies  operating  against  Richmond, 
and  in  the  subsequent  operations  I  was  under  the  imme- 
diate orders  of  the  Lieutenant-General  commanding. 

I  moved  by  the  way  of  Reams'  station  on  the  Weldon 
railroad,  and  Malon's  crossing  on  the  Rowanty  creek, 
where  we  were  obliged  to  construct  a  bridge. 

At  this  point  our  advance  encountered  a  small^  picket 
of  the  rebel  cavalry,  and  drove  it  to  the  left  across  Stony 
creek,  capturing  a  few  prisoners,  from  whom,  and  from 
my  scouts,  I  learned  that  the  enemy's  cavalry  was  at  or 
near  Stony  creek  depot,  on  the  Weldon  railroad,  on  our 
left  flank  and  rear.  Believing  that  it  would  not  attack 
me,  and  that  by  pushing  on  to  Dinwiddie  Court  House  I 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  151 

could  force  it  to  make  a  wide  detour,  we  continued  the 
march,  reaching  the  Court  House  about  five  o'clock  p.  m., 
encountering  only  a  small  picket  of  the  enemy,  which  was 
driven  away  by  our  advance. 

It  was  found  necessary  to  order  General  Custer's  division, 
which  was  marching  in  the  rear,  to  remain  near  Malon's 
crossing,  on  the  Rowanty  creek,  to  assist  and  protect  our 
trains,  which  were  greatly  retarded  by  the  almost  impass- 
able roads  of  that  miry  section.  The  first  and  second 
divisions  went  into  camp  covering  the  Yaughan,  Flat 
Foot,  Boydton  plank,  and  Five  Forks  roads,  which  all 
intersect  at  Dinwiddle  Court  House,  rendering  this  an  ini- 
portant  point,  and  from  which  I  was  expected  to  make  a 
cavalry  raid  on  the  Southside  railroad,  and  thence  join 
General  Sherman,  or  return  to  Petersburg,  as  circumstances 
might  dictate.  However,  during  the  night  the  Lieutenant- 
General  sent  me  instructions  to  abandon  the  contemplated 
raid,  and  act  in  concert  with  the  infantry  under  his  imme- 
diate command,  and  turn  the  right  flank  of  Lee's  army,  if 
possible. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  30th  of  March,  I  directed 
General  Merritt  to  send  the  first  division,  Brigadier-General 
Deven  commanding,  to  gain  possession  of  the  Five  Forks 
on  the  White  Oak  road,  and  directed  General  Crook  to 
send  General  Davies'  brigade  of  his  division  to  the  sup- 
port of  General  Deven. 

Gregg's  brigade,  of  Crook's  division,  was  held  on  the 
Boydton  plank  road,  and  guarded  the  crossing  of  Stony 
creek,  forcing  the  enemy's  cavalry,  that  was  moving  from 
Stony  creek  depot  to  form  a  connection  with  the  right  of 
their  army,  to  make  a  wide  detour,  as  I  had  anticipated, 
on  the  south  side  of  Stony  creek,  and  west  of  Chamber- 
lain's bed — a  very  fatiguing  march  in  the  bad  condition 
of  the#  roads.  A  very  heavy  rain  fell  during  this  day, 
aggravating  the  swampy  nature  of  the  ground,  and  render- 


152  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN". 

ing  the  movements  of  troops  almost  impossible.     General 
Merritt's  reconooissance  developed  the  enemy  in  strong 
force  on  the  White  Oak  road  in   the  vicinity  of  the  Five 
Forks,  and  there  was  some  heavy  skirmishing  tliroughout 
the  day.     Next  morning,  March  31,  General  Merritt  ad- 
vanced toward  the  Five  Forks  with  the  first  division,  and 
meeting  with    considerable  opposition.  General  Deven's 
brigade,   of  Crook's  division,  was  ordered  to  join  him, 
while  General  Crook,  advancing  on  the  left  with  the  two 
other  brigades  of  his  division,  encountered  the  enemy's 
cavalry  at  Chamberlain's  creek,  at  a  point  a  little  west  of 
Dinwiddie,  making    demonstrations    to    cross.       Smith's 
brigade  was  ordered  to  hold  them  in  check   and   Gregg's 
brigade  to  a  position  on  his  right.     The  advance  of  the 
first  division  got  possession  of  the  Five  Forks,  but  in  the 
mean  time  the  fifth  army  corps,  which  had  advanced  to- 
ward the  White   Oak  road   from  the  Yaughan  road,  was 
attacked  and   driven   back,   and  withdrawing  from  that 
point,  this  force  of  the  enemy  marched  rapidly  from  the 
front  of  the  fifth  corps  to   the   Five  Forks,  driving  in  our 
cavalry   advance,  and  moving   down  on  roads   west  of 
Chamberlain's  creek,   attacked  General  Smith's  brigade, 
but  were  unable  to  force  his  position.     Abandoning  the 
attempt  to   cross  in  his  front,  this  force  of  the  enemy's 
infantry  succeeded  in   effecting  a  crossing   higher  up   the 
creek,  striking  General  Davies'  brigade,  of  the  second  di- 
vision, which,  after  a  gallant  fight,  was  forced  back  upon  the 
left  flank  of  the  first  division,  thus  partially  isolating  all  this 
force  from  my  main  line  covering  Dinwiddie  Court  House. 
Orders  were  at  once  given  to  General  Merritt  to  cross 
this  detached  force  over  to  the  Boydton  plank  road,  and 
march  down  to  Dinwiddie  Court  House,  and  come  into  the 
line  of  battle.      The  enemy,  deceived  by  this  movement, 
followed  it  up  rapidly,  making  a  left  wheel,  and  presenting 
his  rear  to  my  line  of  battle.     When  his  line  was  nearly 


LIFE   OF    MAJOR-GENE KAL   SHERIDAN.  153 

parallel  to  uiine,  General  Gibbs'  brigade  of  the  first  di- 
vision, and  General  Irvine  Gregg's  brigade  of  the  second 
division  were  ordered  to  attack  at  once,  and  General 
Custer  was  directed  to  bring  up  two  of  his  brigades  rap- 
idly, leaving  one  brigade  of  his  division  with  the  trains 
that  had  not  yet  reached  Dinwiddie  Court  House.  In  the 
gallant  attack  made  by  Gibbs  and  Gregg  the  enemy's 
wounded  fell  into  our  hands,  and  he  was  forced  to  face  by 
the  rear  rank,  and  give  up  his  movement,  which  if  con- 
tinued would  have  taken  in  flank  and  rear  the  infantry 
line  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  When  the  enemy  had 
faced  to  meet  this  attack  a  very  obstinate  and  handsomely 
contested  battle  ensued,  in  which,  with  all  his  cavalry  and 
two  divisions  of  infantry,  the  enemy  was  unable  to  drive 
five  brigades  of  our  cavalry,  dismounted,  from  an  open 
plain  in  front  of  Dinwiddie  Court  House.  The  brunt  of 
their  cavalry  attack  was  borne  by  General  Smith's  brigade, 
which  had  so  gallantly  held  the  crossing  of  Chamberlain's 
creek  in  the  morning.  His  command  again  held  the  ene- 
my in  check  with  determined  bravery,  but  the  heavy  force 
brought  against  his  right  flank  finally  compelled  him  to 
abandon  his  position  on  the  creek,  and  fall  back  to  the 
main  line  immediatelv  in  front  of  Dinwiddie  Court  House. 
As  the  enemy's  infantry  advanced  to  the  attack,  our  cav- 
alry Jthrew  up  slight  breastworks  of  rails  at  some  points 
along  our  lines,  and  when  the  enemy  attempted  to  force 
this  position  they  were  handsomely  repulsed,  and  gave  up 
the  attempt  to  gain  possession  of  the  Court  House.  It 
was  after  dark  when  the  firing  ceased,  and  the  enemy  lay 
on  their  arms  that  night  not  more  than  one  hunderd  yards 
in  front  of  our  lines.  The  commands  of  Generals  Deven 
and  Davies  reached  Dinwiddie  Court  House  without  oppo- 
sition by  way  of  Boydton  plank  road,  but  did  not  partici- 
pate in  the  final  action  of  the  day.  In  this  well  contested 
battle    the    most   obotiuate  gallantry   was   di>-^played    by 


154  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

my  entire  command.  The  brigades  commanded  by  Gen- 
eral Gibbs  and  Colonels  Stagg  and  Fitzhugh,  in  the  first 
division,  Generals  Davies,  Gregg,  and  Smith  in  the  second 
division,  Colonels  Pennington  and  Capehart,  in  the  third 
division,  vied  with  each  other  in  their  determined  efforts 
to  hold  in  check  the  superior  force  of  the  enemy  ;  and  the 
skilful  management  of  their  troops  in  this  peculiarly  diffi- 
cult country  entitles  the  brigade  commanders  to  the 
highest  commendation. 

Generals  Crook,  Merritt,  Custer,  and  Deven,  by  their 
courage  and  ability,  sustained  their  commands,  and  exe- 
cuted the  rapid  movements  of  the  day  with  promptness 
and  without  confusion. 

During  the  right  of  the  31st  of  March,  my  headquarters 
were  at  Dinwiddle  Court  House,  and  the  Lieutenant- 
General  notified  me  that  the  fifth  corps  would  report  to 
me,  and  should  reach  me  by  midnight.  This  corps  had 
been  offered  to  me  on  the  30th  instant,  but  very  much  de- 
siring the  sixth  corps,  which  had  been  with  me  in  the 
Shenandoah  valley,  I  asked  for  it,  but  on  account  of  the 
delay  which  would  occur  in  moving  that  corps  from  its 
position  in  the  lines  in  front  of  Petersburg,  it  could  not  be 
sent  to  me.  I  respectfully  submit  herewith  my  brief  ac- 
counts of  the  operations  of  the  day,  the  response  to  which 
was  the  ordering  of  the  fifth  corps  to  my  support  and  my 
command,  as  also  the  despatch  of  the  Lieutenant-General 
notifying  me  of  his  action.  I  understood  that  the  fifth 
corps,  when  ordered  to  report  to  me,  was  in  position  near 
S.  Dabney's  house,  in  the  angle  between  the  Boydton  road 
and  the  Five  Forks  road. 

Had  General  Warren  moved  according  to  the  expecta- 
tions of  the  Lieutenant-General,  there  would  appear  to 
have  been  but  little  chance  for  the  escape  of  the  enemy's 
infantry  in  front  of  Dinwiddle  Court  House.  Ayres' 
division  moved  down  the  Boydton  plank  road  during  the 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  155 

night,  and  in  the  morning  moved  west  via  R.  Boisseau's 
house,  striking  the  Five  Forks  road  about  two  and  a  half 
miles  north  of  Dinwiddle  Court  Ilouse.  General  Warren, 
with  Griffin's  and  Crawford's  divisions,  moved  down  the 
road  by  Crump's  house,  coming  into  the  Five  Forks  road 
near  J.  Boisseau's  house  between  seven  and  eight  o'clock 
on  the  morning  of  the  1st  of  April.  Meantime,  I  moved 
my  cavalry  force  at  daylight  against  the  enemy's  lines  in 
front,  which  gave  way  rapidly,  moving  off  by  the  right 
flank  and  crossing  Chamberlain's  creek.  This  hasty  move- 
ment was  accelerated  by  the  discovery  that  two  divisions 
of  the  fifth  corps  were  in  their  rear,  and  that  one  division 
was  moving  toward  their  left  and  rear. 

The  following  were  the  instructions  sent  to  General 

Warren  : 

"  Cavalry  Headquarters,  ) 

"DiNWiDDiE  C.  H.,  April  1,  1865—3  a.  m.  ) 
"  To  Major- General  Warren,  Commanding  Fifth 
Army  Corps : — I  am  holding  in  front  of  Dinwiddle  Court 
House,  on  the  road  leading  to  Five  Forks,  for  three  quar- 
ters of. a  mile,  with  General  Custer's  division.  The  enemy 
are  in  his  immediate  front,  lying  so  as  to  cover  the  road 
just  this  side  of  A.  Adam's  house,  which  leads  out  across 
Chamberlain's  bed  or  run.  I  understand  you  have  a  divi- 
sion at  J.  Boisseau's ;  if  so,  you  are  in  rear  of  the  enemy's 
lines,  and  almost  on  his  flanks.  I  will  hold  on  here. 
Possibly  they  may  attack  Custer  at  daylight ;  if  so,  attack 
instantly,  and  in  full  force.  Attack  at  daylight  anyhow, 
and  I  will  make  an  effort  to  get  the  road  this  side  of 
Adam's  house,  and  if  I  do,  you  can  capture  the  whole  of 
them.  Any  force  moving  down  the  road  I  am  holding, 
or  on  the  White  Oak  road,  will  be  in  the  enemy's  rear, 
and  in  all  probability  get  any  force  that  may  escape  you 
by  a  flank  attack.  Do  not  fear  my  leaving  here.  If  the 
enemy  remains,  I  shall  fight  at  daylight. 

"P.  H.  Sheridan,  Major- General.-^ 

As  they  fell  back  the  enemy  were  rapidly  followed  by 
General  Merritt's  two  divisions,  General  Deven  on  the 


156  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GEXERAL   SHERIDAX. 

right,  and  General  Custer  on  the  left ;  General  Crook  in 
rear.  During  the  remainder  of  the  day  General  Crook's 
division  held  the  extreme  left  and  rear,  and  was  not 
seriously  engaged. 

I  then  determined  that  I  would  drive  the  enemy,  with 
the  cavalry,  to  the  Five  Forks,  press  them  inside  of  their 
works,  and  make  a  feint  to  turn  their  right  flank,  and 
meanwhile  quietly  move  up  the  fifth  corps  with  a  view  to 
attacking  their  left  flank,  crush  the  whole  force,  if  possi- 
ble, and  drive  westward  those  who  might  escape,  thus 
isolating  them  from  their  army  at  Petersburg.  Happily, 
this  conception  was  successfully  executed.  About  this 
time  General  McKenzie's  division  of  cavalry,  from  the 
army  of  the  James,  reported  to  me,  and  consisted  of  about 
one  thousand  effective  men.  I  directed  General  Warren 
to  hold  fast  at  J.  Boisseau's  house,  refresh  his  men,  and 
be  ready  to  move  to  the  front  when  required  ;  and  Gene- 
ral McKenzie  was  ordered  to  rest  in  front  of  Dinwiddle 
Court  House  until  further  orders. 

Meantime  General  Merritt's  command  continued  to 
press  the  enemy,  and  by  impetuous  charges  drove  them 
from  two  lines  of  temporary  works ;  General  Custer 
guiding  his  advance  on  the  widow  Gilliam's  house,  and 
General  Deven  on  the  main  Five  Forks  road.  The 
courage  displayed  by  the  cavalry  officers  and  men  was 
superb,  and  about  two  o'clock  the  enemy  was  behind  his 
works  on  the  White  Oak  road,  and  his  skirmish  line 
drawn  in.  I  then  ordered  up  the  fifth  corps  on  the  main 
road,  and  sent  Brevet  Major  Gillespie,  of  the  engineers, 
to  turn  the  head  of  the  column  off  on  the  Gravelly 
Church  road,  and  put  the  corps  in  position  on  this  road 
obliquely  to  and  at  a  point  but  a  short  distance  from  the 
White  Oak  road,  and  about  one  mile  from  the  Five  Forks. 
Two  divisions  of  the  corps  were  to  form  the  front  line,  and 


LIFE    OF    MAJOR-GENEKAL    SUEKIDAK.  157 

one  division  was  to  be  held  in  reserve  in  column  of  regi- 
ments opposite  tiie  centre. 

I  then  directed  General  Merritt  to  demonstrate  as 
though  he  was  attempting  to  turn  the  enemy's  right  flank, 
and  notified  him  that  the  fifth  corps  would  strike  the 
enemy's  left  flank,  and  ordered  that  the  cavalry  should 
assault  the  enemy's  works  as  soon  as  the  fifth  corps  be- 
came engaged,  and  that  would  be  determined  by  the 
volleys  of  musketry.  I  then  rode  over  to  where  the  fifth 
corps  was  going  into  position,  and  found  them  coming  up 
very  slowly.  I  was  exceedingly  anxious  to  attack  at 
once,  for  the  sun  was  getting  low,  and  we  had  to  fight  or 
go  back.  It  was  no  place  to  intrench,  and  it  would  have 
been  shameful  to  have  gone  back  with  no  results  to  com- 
pensate for  the  loss  of  the  brave  men  who  had  fallen 
during  the  day.  In  this  connection,  I  will  say  that  Gen- 
eral Warren  did  not  exert  himself  to  get  up  his  corps  as 
rapidly  as  he  might  have  done,  and  his  manner  gave  me 
the  impression  that  he  wished  the  sun  to  go  down  before 
dispositions  for  the  attack  could  be  completed.  As  soon 
as  the  corps  was  in  position,  I  ordered  an  advance  in  the 
following  formation  :  Ayres'  division  on  the  left  in  double 
lines,  Crawford's  division  on  the  right  in  double  lines,  and 
Griffin's  division  in  reserve,  behind  Crawford,  and  the 
White  Oak  road  was  reached  without  opposition. 

While  General  Warren  was  getting  into  position,  I 
learned  that  the  left  of  the  second  corps  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  on  my  right,  had  been  swung  around  from 
the  direction  of  its  line  of  battle  until  it  fronted  on 
the  Boydton  road,  and  parallel  to  it,  which  afforded  an 
opportunity  to  the  enemy  to  march  down  the  White  Oak 
road  and  attack  me  in  right  and  rear.  General  McKenzie 
was  therefore  sent  up  the  Crump  road,  with  direction  to 
gain  the  White  Oak  road  if  possible,  but  to  attack  at  all 
hazards  any  enemy  found,  and  if  successful,  then  march 


158  LIFE   OF   MAJOR- GEXEKAL   SHERIDAIf. 

down  that  road  and  join  me.  General  MeKenzie  executed 
this  with  courage  and  skill,  attacking  a  force  of  the  enemy 
on  the  White  Oak  road,  and  driving  it  toward  Peters- 
burg. He  then  countermarched,  and  joined  me  on  the 
White  Oak  road  just  as  the  fifth  corps  advanced  to  the 
attack,  and  I  directed  him  to  swing  round  with  the  right 
of  the  infantry  and  gain  possession  of  the  Ford  road  at  the 
crossing  of  Hatcher's  run.  The  fifth  corps,  on  reaching 
the  White  Oak  road,  made  a  left  wheel,  and  burst  on  the 
enemy's  left  flank  and  rear  like  a  tornado,  and  pushed 
rapidly  on,  orders  having  been  given  that  if  the  enemy 
was  routed  there  should  be  no  halt  to  reform  broken  lines. 
As  stated  before,  the  firing  of  the  fifth  corps  was  the 
signal  to  General  Merritt  to  assault,  which  was  promptly 
responded  to,  and  the  works  of  the  enemy  were  soon 
carried  at  several  points  by  our  brave  cavalrymen.  The 
enemy  were  driven  from  their  strong  line  of  works,  and 
completely  routed,  the  fifth  corps  doubling  up  their  left  flank 
in  confusion,  and  the  cavalry  of  General  Merritt  dashing 
on  to  the  White  Oak  road,  capturing  their  artillery,  and 
turning  it  upon  them,  and,  riding  into  their  broken  ranks, 
so  demoralized  them,  that  they  made  no  serious  stand 
after  their  line  was  carried,  but  took  to  flight  in  disorder. 
Between  five  thousand  and  six  thousand  prisoners  fell 
into  our  hands,  and  the  fugitives  were  driven  westward, 
and  were  pursued  until  long  after  dark  by  Merritt's  and^ 
oMcKenzie's  cavalry,  for  a  distance  of  six  miles. 

During  this  attack  I  again  became  dissatisfied  with 
General  Warren.  During  the  engagement,  portions  of 
his  line  gave  way  when  not  exposed  to  a  heavy  fire,  and 
simply  from  want  of  confidence  on  the  part  of  the  troops, 
which  General  Warren  did  not  exert  himself  to  inspire. 
I  therefore  relieved  him  from  the  command  of  the  fifth 
corps,  authority  for  this  action  having  been  sent  to  me, 
before    the   battle,    unsolicited.      When    the    pursuit  was 


LIFE   OF    MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  159 

given  up,  I  directed  General  Griffin,  who  had  been 
ordered  to  assume  command  of  the  lifth  corps,  to  collect 
his  corps  at  once,  march  two  divisions  back  to  Gravelly 
Church,  and  put  them  into  position  at  right  angles  to  the 
White  Oak  road,  facing  toward  Petersburg,  while  Bart- 
lett's  division,  Griffin's  old,  covered  the  Ford  road  to 
Hatcher's  run.  General  Merritt's  cavalry  went  into 
camp  on  the  widow  Gilliam's  plantation,  and  General 
McKenzie  took  position  on  the  Ford  road  at  the  crossing 
of  Hatcher's  run.  I  cannot  speak  too  highly  of  the  con- 
duct of  the  troops  in  this  battle,  and  of  the  gallantry  of 
their  commanding  officers,  who  appeared  to  realize  that 
the  success  of  the  campaign  and  fate  of  Lee's  army 
depended  upon  it.  They  merit  the  thanks  of  the  country 
and  reward  of  the  government.  To  Generals  Griffin, 
Ayres,  Bartlett,  and  Crawford,  of  the  fifth  corps,  and  to 
Generals  Merritt,  Custer,  Deven,  and  McKenzie,  of  the 
cavalry,  great  credit  is  due ;  and  to  their  subordinate 
commanders  they  will  undoubtedly  award  the  praise 
which  is  due  to  them  for  the  hearty  cooperation,  bravery, 
and  ability  which  were  everywhere  displayed.  At  day- 
light on  the  morning  of  April  2d,  General  Miles'  division 
of  the  second  corps  reported  to  me,  coming  over  from  the 
Boydton  plank  road.  I  ordered  it  to  move  up  the  White 
Oak  road  toward  Petersburg,  and  attack  the  enemy  at  the 
intersection  of  that  road  with  the  Claiborne  road,  where 
he  was  in  position  in  heavy  force,  and  I  followed  General 
Miles  immediately  with  two  divisions  of  the  fifth  corps. 
Miles  forced  the  enemy  from  this  position,  and  pursued 
with  great  zeal,  pushing  him  across  Hatcher's  run,  and 
following  him  up  on  the  road  to  Sutherland's  depot.  On 
the  north  side  of  the  run  I  overtook  Miles,  who  was 
anxious  to  attack,  and  had  a  very  fine  and  spirited  division. 
I  gave  him  permission,  but  about  this  time  General 
Humphreys  came  up,  and  receiving  notice  from  General 


160  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

Meade  that  General  Humphreys  would  take  command 
of  Miles'  division,  I  relinquished  it  at  once,  facing  the 
fifth  corps  by  flie  rear.  I  afterward  regretted  giving  up 
this  division,  as  I  believe  the  enemy  could  at  that  time 
have  been  crushed  at  Sutherland's  depot.  I  returned  to 
Five  Forks,  and  marched  out  the  Ford  road  toward 
Hatcher's  run. 

The  cavalry  had  in  the  meantime  been  sent  westward, 
to  cross  Hatcher's  run  and  break  up  the  enemy's  cavalry, 
which  had  collected  in  considerable  force  north  of  that 
stream,  but  they  would  not  stand  to  fight,  and  our  cavalry 
pursued  them  in  a  direction  due  north  to  the  Namozine 
road.  Crossing  Hatcher's  run  with  the  fifth  corps,  the 
Southside  railroad  was  struck  at  Ford's  depot,  meeting 
DO  opposition,  and  the  fifth  corps  marched  rapidly  toward 
Sutherland's  depot,  in  flank  and  rear  of  the  enemy  oppo- 
sing Miles.  As  he  approached  that  point,  the  force  of  the 
enemy  fled  before  the  fifth  corps  could  reach  them,  retreat- 
ing along  the  main  road  by  the  Appomattox  river,  the 
cavalry  and  Crawford's  division  of  the  fifth  corps  engaging 
them  slightly  about  dusk.  On  the  morning  of  the  3d 
our  cavalry  took  up  the  pursuit,  routing  the  enemy's 
cavalry,  and  capturing  many  prisoners.  The  enemy's 
infantry  was  encountered  at  Deep  creek,  where  a  severe 
fight  took  place.  The  fifth  corps  followed  up  the  cavalry 
rapidly,  picking  up  many  prisoners,  and  five  pieces  of 
abandoned  artillery,  and  a  number  of  wagons.  The  fifth 
corps,  with  Crook's  division  of  cavalry,  encamped  that 
night,  the  4th,  at  Deep  creek,  on  the  Namoziue  road, 
neither  of  these  commands  having  been  engaged  during 
the  day.  On  the  morning  of  the  4th,  General  Crook  was 
ordered  to  strike  the  Danville  railroad,  between  Jetters- 
ville  and  Burke's  station,  and  then  move  up  toward 
Jettersville.  The  fifth  corps  moved  rapidly  to  that  point, 
as  I  had  learned  from  my  scouts  that  the  enemy  was  at 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  161 

Amelia  Court  House,  and  every  thing  indicated  that  they 
were  collecting  at  that  point.  On  arriving  at  Jettersville, 
about  five  q'clock  p.  m.,  I  learned  without  doubt  that 
Lee  and  his  whole  army  were  at  Amelia  Court  House. 

The  fifth  corps  was  at  once  ordered  to  intrench,  with  a 
view  of  holding  Jettersville  until  the  main  army  could 
come  up.  It  seems  to  me  that  this  was  the  only  chance 
the  army  of  Northern  Virginia  had  to  save  itself,  which 
might  have  been  done  had  General  Lee  promptly  attacked 
and  driven  back  the  comparatively  small  force  opposed 
to  him,  and  pursued  his  march  to  Burkesville  junction. 
A  despatch  from  General  Lee's  chief  commissary  to  the 
commissary  at  Danville  and  Lynchburg,  requiring  two 
hundred  thousand  rations  to  be  sent  to  meet  the  army  at 
Burkesville,  was  here  intercepted.  So  soon  as  I  found 
that  the  entire  army  of  the  enemy  was  concentrated  at 
Amelia  Court  House,  I  forwarded  promptly  all  the  infor- 
mation I  had  obtained  to  General  Meade  and  the  Lieu- 

4 

tenant-General.  On  the  morning  of  April  5th,  General 
Crook  was  directed  to  send  General  Davies'  brigade  to 
make  a  reconnoissance  to  Paine's  cross-roads  on  our  left 
and  front,  and  ascertain  if  the  enemy  were  making  any 
movement  towards  that  flank  to  escape.  General  Davies 
struck  a  train  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  wagons,  escorted 
by  a  considerable  force  of  the  enemy's  cavalry,  which  he 
defeated,  capturing  five  pieces  of  artillery.  He  destroyed 
the  wagons,  and  brought  in  a  large  number  of  prisoners. 
Gregg's  and  Smith's  brigades,  of  the  second  division,  were 
sent  out  to  support  Davies,  and  some  heavy  fighting 
ensued,  the  enemy  having  sent  a  strong  force  of  infantry 
to  attack  and  cut  off  Davies'  brigade,  which  attempt  was 
unsuccessful.  During  the  afternoon,  and  after  the  arrival 
of  the  second  corps  at  Jettersville,  which  General  Meade 
requested  me  to  put  in  position,  he  being  ill,  the  enemy 
demonstrated   strongly   in   front   of  Jettersville   against 


162  LIFE   OF   MAJOK-GENKRAL   SHERIDAN. 

Smith's  and  Gregg's  brigades  of  Crook's  division  of 
cavalry,  but  no  serious  attack  was  made.  Early  on  the 
morning  of  April  6th,  General  Crook  was  ordered  to 
move  to  the  left  to  Deatonsville,  followed  by  Custer's  and 
Deven's  divisions  of  General  Merritt's  command.  The 
fifth  corps  had  been  returned  to  the  command  of  General 
Meade  at  his  request.  I  afterward  regretted  giving  up 
the  corps. 

When  near  Deatonsville,  the  enemy's  trains  were 
discovered  moving  in  the  direction  of  Burkesville,  or  Farm- 
ville,  escorted  by  heavy  masses  of  infantry  and  cavalry, 
and  it  soon  became  evident  that  the  whole  of  Lee's  army 
was  attempting  to  make  its  escape.  Crook  was  at  once 
ordered  to  attack  the  trains,  and  if  the  enemy  was  too 
strong,  one  of  the  divisions  would  pass  him  while  he  held 
fast  and  pressed  the  enemy,  and  attack  at  a  point  further 
on,  and  this  division  was  ordered  to  do  the  same,  and  so 
on,  alternating,  and  this  system  of  attack  would  enable  us 
finally  to  strike  some  weak  point.  This  result  was 
obtained  just  south  of  Sailor's  creek,  and  on  the  high 
ground  over  that  stream.  Custer  took  the  road,  and 
Crook  and  Deven  coming  up  to  his  support,  sixteen 
pieces  of  artillery  were  captured,  and  about  four  hundred 
wagons  destroyed,  and  many  prisoners  were  taken,  and 
three  divisions  of  the  enemy's  infantry  were  cut  off  from 
the  line  of  retreat.  Meanwhile,  Colonel  Stagg,  command- 
ing the  Michigan  brigade  of  the  first  division,  was  held  at 
a  point  about  two  and  a  half  miles  south  of  Deatonsville, 
and  with  this  force,  and  a  section  of  Miller's  battery, 
which  shelled  the  trains  with  excellent  effect,  while  Colonel 
Stagg  demonstrated  to  attack  them,  thus  keeping  a  large 
force  of  the  enemy  from  moving  against  the  rest  of  the 
cavalry,  and  holding  them  until  the  arrival  of  the  sixth 
corps,  which  was  marching  to  report  to  me.  I  felt  so 
strongly  the  necessity  of  holding  this  large  force  of  the 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERTDAN.  1GP> 

enemy,  that  I  gave  permission  to  General  Mcrritt  to 
order  Colonel  Stagg's  brigade  to  make  a  mounted  charge 
against  their  lines,  which  was  most  gallantly  done,  the 
men  leaving  many  of  their  horses  dead  almost  up  to  the 
enemv's  works. 

On  the  arrival  of  the  head  of  the  sixth  corps  the  enemy 
commenced  withdrawing.  Major-General  Wright  was 
ordered  to  put  Seymour's  division  into  position  at  once, 
and  advance  and  carry  the  road,  which  was  done  at  a 
point  about  two  miles  or  two  miles  and  a-half  from  Dea- 
tonsville.  As  soon  as  the  road  was  in  our  possession, 
Wright  was  directed  to  push  General  Seymour  on,  the 
enemy  falling  back,  skirmishing  briskl}^  Their  resistance 
growing  stubborn,  a  halt  was  called  to  get  up  Wheaton's 
division  of  the  sixth  corps,  which  went  into  position  on 
the  left  of  the  road,  Seymour  being  on  the  right.  Wheaton 
was  ordered  to  guide  right,  with  his  right  connecting  with 
Seymour's  left,  and  resting  on  the  road.  I  still  felt  the 
great  importance  of  pushing  the  enemy,  and  was  unwill- 
ing to  wait  for  Getty's  division  of  the  sixth  corps  to  get 
up.  I  therefore  ordered  an  advance,  sending  word  to 
General  Humphreys,  who  was  on  the  road  to  our  right, 
and  requesting  him  to  push  on,  as  I  felt  confident  that  we 
could  break  up  the  enemy.  It  was  apparent  from  the 
absence  of  artillery  fire,  and  the  manner  in  which  they 
gave  way  when  pressed,  that  the  force  of  the  enemy  op- 
posed to  us  was  a  heavy  rear  guard.  The  enemy  w^as 
driven  until  our  lines  reached  Sailor's  creek ;  and  from 
the  north  bank  I  could  see  our  cavalry  on  the  high 
ground  above  the  creek  and  south  of  it,  and  the  long  line 
of  smoke  from  the  burning  wagons.  A  cavalryman,  who, 
in  a  charge,  cleared  the  enem3'^'s  works,  and  came  through 
their  lines,  reported  to  me  what  was  in  front.  I  regret 
that  I  have  forgotten  the  name  of  this  gallant  young  sol- 
dier. As  soon  as  General  Wright  could  get  his  artillery 
10 


164  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

into  position,  I  ordered  the  attack  to  be  made  on  the  left, 
and  sent  Colonel  Stagg's  brigade  of  cavalry  to  strike  and 
flank  the  extreme  right  of  the  enemy's  lines.  The  attack 
by  the  infantry  was  not  executed  exactly  as  I  had  directed, 
and  a  portion  of  our  line  in  the  open  ground  was  broken 
by  the  terrible  fire  of  the  enemy,  who  were  in  position  on 
commanding  ground  south  of  the  creek. 

This  attack  by  Wheaton's  and  Seymour's  divisions  was 
splendid,  but  no  more  than  I  had  reason  to  expect  from 
the  gallant  sixth  corps.     The  cavalry  in  rear  of  the  enemy 
attacked  simultaneously,  and  the  enemy,  after  a  gallant  re- 
sistance, were  completely  surrounded,  and  nearly  all  threw 
down  their  arms  and  surrendered.     General  Ewell,  com- 
manding the  enemy's  forces,  and  a  number  of  other  gen- 
eral ofiBcers,  fell  into  our  hands,  and  a  very  large  number 
of  prisoners.     I  have  never  ascertained  exactly  how  many 
prisoners  were  taken  in  this  battle.     Most  of  them  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  cavalry,  but  they  are  no  more  entitled 
to  claim  them  than  the  sixth  corps,  to  which  command 
equal  credit  is  due  for  the  good  results  of  this  engagement. 
Both  the  cavalry  and  the  sixth  corps  encamped  south  of 
Sailor's  creek  that  night,  having  followed  up  the  small 
remnant  of  the  enemy's  forces  for  several  miles.     In  refer- 
ence to  the  participation  of  the  sixth  corps  in  this  action, 
1  desire  to  add  that  the  Lieutenant-General  had  notified 
me  that  this  corps  would  report  to  me.     Major  McClellan, 
and   Lieutenant-Colonel   Franklin,  of  General   Wright's 
staff,  had  successively  been  sent  forward  to  report  the 
progress  of  the  corps  in  coming  up,  and  on  the  arrival  of 
Major-General  Wright  he  reported  his  corps  to  me,  and 
from  that  time  until  after  the  battle,  received  my  orders 
and  obeyed  them  ;  but  after  the  engagement  was  over,  and 
General  Meade  had  communicated  with  General  Wright, 
the  latter  declined  to  make  his  report  to  me  until  ordered 
to  do  so  by  the  Lieutenant-General. 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL  SHERIDAN".  165 

On  the  Tth  instant  the  pursuit  was  continued  early  in 
the  morning  by  the  cavahy,  General  Crook  in  the  advance. 
It  was  discovered  that  the  enemy  had  not  been  cut  off  by 
the  army  of  the  James,  and  under  the  belief  that  he  would 
attempt  to  escape  on  the  Danville  road  through  Prince 
Edward  Court  House,  General  Merritt  was  ordered  to 
move  his  two  divisions  to  that  point,  passing  around  the 
left  of  the  Array  of  the  James.  General  Crook  continued 
the  direct  pursuit,  encountering  the  main  body  of  the 
enemy  at  Farmville,  and  again  on  the  north  side  of  the 
Appomattox,  when  the  enemy's  trains  were  attacked  by 
General  Gregg,  and  a  sharp  fight  with  the  enemy's  infan- 
try ensued,  in  which  General  Gregg  was  unfortunately 
captured. 

On  arriving  at  Prince  Edward  Court  House,  I  found 
General  McKenzie,  with  his  division  of  cavalry  from  the 
Army  of  the  James,  and  ordered  him  to  cross  the  bridge 
on  the  Buffalo  river,  and  make  a  reconnoissance  to  Pros- 
pect station,  on  the  Lynchburg  railroad,  and  ascertain  if 
the  enemy  were  moving  past  that  point.  Meantime,  I 
heard  from  General  Crook  that  the  enemy  had  crossed  to 
the  north  side  of  the  Appomattox,  and  General  Merritt 
was  then  moved  on  and  encamped  at  Bufialo  creek,  and 
General  Crook  was  ordered  to  recross  the  Appomattox, 
and  encamp  at  Prospect  station.  On  the  morning  of  the 
8th,  Merritt  and  McKenzie  continued  the  march  to  Pros- 
pect station,  and  Merritt's  and  Crook's  commands  then 
moved  on  to  Appomattox  depot,  a  point  on  the  Lynch- 
burg railroad,  five  miles  south  of  Appomattox  Court 
House.  Shortly  after  the  march  commenced,  Sergeant 
White,  one  of  my  scouts,  notified  me  that  there  were  four 
trains  of  cars  at  Appomattox  depot,  loaded  with  supplies 
for  General  Lee's  army.  Generals  Merritt  and  Crook 
were  at  once  notified,  and  the  command  pushed  on  briskly 
for  twenty-eight  miles.     General  Custer  had  the  advance, 


166  LIFE   OF   mIjOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

and  on  nearing  the  depot,  skilfully  threw  a  force  in  rear 
of  the  trains  and  captured  them.  Without  halting  a  mo- 
ment he  pushed  on,  driving  the  enemy  (who  had  reached 
the  depot  about  the  same  time  as  our  cavalry)  in  the 
direction  of  Appomattox  Court  House,  capturing  many 
prisoners,  and  twenty-five  pieces  of  artillery,  a  hospital 
train,  and  a  large  park  of  wagons.  General  Deven  coming 
up,  went  in  on  the  right  of  Custer.  The  fighting  con- 
tinued till  after  dark,  and  the  enemy  being  driven  to  Ap- 
pomattox Court  House,  I  at  once  notified  the  Lieutenant- 
General,  and  sent  word  to  Generals  Ord  and  Gibbon,  of 
the  Army  of  the  James,  and  General  Griffin,  commanding 
the  fifth  corps,  who  were  in  rear,  that  if  they  pressed  on 
there  was  now  no  means  of  escape  for  the  enemy,  who 
had  reached  "  the  last  ditch."  During  the  night,  although 
we  knew  that  the  remnant  of  Lee's  army  was  in  our  front, 
we  held  fast  with  the  cavalry  to  what  we  had  gained,  and 
ran  the  captured  trains  back  along  the  railroad  to  a  point 
where  they  w^ould  be  protected  by  our  infantry  that  was 
coming  up.  The  twenty-fourth  and  fifth  corps,  and  one 
division  of  the  twenty-fifth  corps,  arrived  about  daylight 
on  the  9th  at  Appqjnattox  depot. 

•  After  consulting  with  General  Ord,  who  was  in  com- 
mand of  these  corps,  I  rode  to  the  front,  near  Appomattox 
Court  House,  and  just  as  the  enemy  in  heavy  force  was 
attacking  the  cavalry  with  the  intention  of  breaking 
through  our  lines,  I  directed  the  cavalry,  which  was  dis- 
mounted, to  fall  back,  gradually  resisting  the  enemy,  so 
as  to  give  time  for  the  infantry  to  form  its  lines  and  march 
to  the  attack,  and  when  this  was  done,  to  move  off  to  the 
right  flank  and  mount.  This  was  done,  and  the  enemy 
discontinued  his  attack  as  soon  as  he  caught  sight  of  our 
infantry.  I  moved  briskly  around  the  left  of  the  enemy's 
line  of  battle,  which  was  falling  back  rapidly,  (heavily 
pressed  by  the  advance  of  the  infantry,)  and  was  about 


LIFE    OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  167 

to  charge  the  trains  and  the  confused  masses  of  the  enemy, 
when  a  white  flag  was  presented  to  General  Custer,  who 
had  the  advance,  and  who  sent  the  information  to  me  at 
once  that  the  enemy  desired  to  surrender. 

Riding  over  to  the  left  at  Appomattox  Court  House,  I 
met  Major-General  Gordon,  of  the  rebel  service,  and  Major- 
General  Wilcox.  General  Gordon  requested  a  suspension 
of  hostilities,  pending  negotiations  for  a  surrender  then 
being  held  between  Lieutenant-General  Grant  and  Gen- 
eral Lee.  I  notified  him  that  I  desired  to  prevent  the 
unnecessary  effusion  of  blood,  but  as  there  was  nothing 
definitely  settled  in  the  correspondence,  and  as  an  attack 
had  been  made  on  my  lines  with  the  view  to  escape,  under 
the  impression  our  force  was  only  cavalry,  I  must  have 
some  assurance  of  an  intended  surrender.  This  General 
Gordon  gave  by  saying  that  there  was  no  doubt  of  the 
surrender  of  General  Lee's  army.  I  then  separated  from 
him,  with  an  agreement  to  meet  these  officers  again  in 
half  an  hour  at  Appomattox  Court  House.  At  the  speci- 
fied time,  in  company  with  General  Ord,  who  commanded 
the  infantry,  I  asrain  met  this  officer  and  also  Lieutenant- 
General  Longstreet,  and  received  from  them  the  same 
assurance,  and  hostilities  ceased  until  the  arrival  of 
Lieutenant-General  Grant. 

I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

P.  H.  Sheridan,  Major -General. 
Brevet  Major-Geyieral  John  A.  Rawlins,  Chief  of  Staff. 


"  Cavalry  Headquarters,  \ 

"DiNwiDDiE  Court  House,  3Iarch  SI,  1865.) 
"  Lieutenant-General  Grant, 

"  Commanding  Armies  United  States: 
"  The  enemy's  cavalry  attacked  me  about  ten  o'clock  to- 
day, on  the  road  coming  in  from  the  west,  and  a  little  north 
of  Dinwiddle  Court  House.     This  attack  was  very  hand- 
somely repulsed  by  General   Smith's  brigade  of  Crook's 


168  -LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL  SHERIDAN. 

division,  and  the  enemy  was  driven  across  Chamberlain's 
creek.  Shortly  afterward  the  enemy's  infantry  attacked 
on  the  same  creek  in  heavy  force,  and  drove  in  General 
Davies'  brigade,  and  advancing  rapidly,  gained  the  forks 
of  the  road  at  J.  Boisseau's.  This  forced  Deven,  who  was 
in  advance,  and  Davies,  to  cross  to  the  Boydton  road. 
General  Gregg's  brigade,  and  General  Gibbs'  brigade,  who 
had  been  toward  Dinwiddie,  then  attacked  the  enemy  in 
the  rear  very  handsomely.  This  stopped  the  march  to- 
w^ard  the  left  of  our  infantrv,  and  fiuallv  caused  them  to 
turn  toward  Dinwiddie,  and  attack  us  in  heavy  force. 
The  enemy  then  again  attacked  at  Chamberlain's  creek, 
and  forced  Smith's  position.  At  this  time  Capehart  and 
Pennington's  brigades  of  Custer's  division  came  up  and 
a  very  handsome  fight  occurred. 

"  The  enemy  have  gained  some  ground,  but  we  still 
hold  in  front  of  Dinwiddie,  and  Davies  and  Deven  are 
coming  down  the  Boydton  road  to  join  us. 

"  The  opposing  force  was  Pickett's  division,  Wise's  in- 
dependent brigade  of  infantry  and  Fitzhugh  Lee's,  Rosser's, 
and  W.  H.  Lee's  cavalry  commands. 

"  The  men  have  behaved  splendidly.  Our  loss  in  killed 
and  wounded  will  probably  number  four  hundred  and  fifty 
men  ;  very  few  were  lost  as  prisoners. 

"We  have  of  the  enemy  a  number  of  prisoners. 

"  This  force  is  too  strong  for  us.  I  will  hold  out  to 
Dinwiddie  Court  House  until  I  am  compelled  to  leave. 

"  Our  fighting  to-day  was  all  dismounted. 

"P.  H.  Sheridan,  Major-Gen.eral.''^ 


"  Dabney  Mills,  > 

''March  31,  1865—10.05  P.  M.  j 
"Major  General  Sheridan  : 

"  The  fifth  corps  has  been  ordered  to  your  support.  Two 
divisions  will  go  by  J.  Boisseau's,  and  one  down  the  Boyd- 
ton road.  In  addition  to  this  I  have  sent  McKenzie's  cav- 
alry, which  will  reach  you  by  the  Vaughan  road. 

"  All  these  forces  except  the  cavalry  should  reach  you 
by  twelve  o'clock  to-night. 

"  You  will  assume  command  of  the  whole  force  sent  to 
operate  w^itb  you,  and  use  it  to  the  best  of  your  ability 


LIFE   OF    MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  169 

to  destroy  the  force  which  your  command  has  fought  so 
gallantly  to-day. 

"  U.  S.  Grant,  Lieutenant- General." 

REBEL  FLAGS  CAPTURED. 

The  following  are  inscriptions  on  rebel  flags  captured 
by  General  Sheridan's  command,  near  Winchester,  Vir- 
ginia, September  19,  1864,  and  now  deposited  in  the 
War  Department : 

REBEL   national  FLAG. 

Captured  September  19,  1864,  near  Winchester,  Yir- 
ginia,  by  Andrew  J.  Lorish,  Commissary  Sergeant  of  the 
first  New  York  dragoons,  of  the  second  brigade,  first 
cavalry  division. 

REBEL   BATTLE   FLAG. 

Captured  September,  19,  1864,  near  Winchester,  Yir- 
ginia,  by  Sergeant  Henry  M.  Fox,  company  M  fifth 
Michigan  cavalry,  first  brigade,  first  division  cavalry. 

OLD  STYLE  REBEL  NATIONAL  FLAG. 

Captured  September  19,  1864,  near  Winchester,  Yir- 
ginia,  by  private  Gabriel  Cole,  company  I  fifth  Michigan 
cavalry,  first  brigade,  first  division  cavalry. 

REBEL   BATTLE   FLAG. 

Captured  September  19,  1864,  near  Winchester,  Yir- 
ginia,  by  George  E.  Meach,  farrier  company  I  sixth  New 
York  cavalry,  second  brigade,  first  cavalry  division. 

VIRGINIA   STATE   FLAG. 

Captured  September  19,  1864,  near  Winchester,  Vir- 
ginia, by  Patrick  McEnroe,  private  company  D  sixth  New 
York  cavalry,  second  brigade,  first  cavalry  division. 

VIRGINIA   STATE    FLAG. 

Captured  September  19,  1864,  near  Winchester,  Vir- 
ginia, by  George  Reynolds,  private  company  M  ninth 
New  York  cavalry,  second  brigade,  first  cavalry  division 


170  LIFE    OF    MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

REBEL    BATTLE    FLAG. 

Battle  flag  of  second  Virginia  infantiy,  Old  Stonewall 
brigade,  Early's  corps.  Thirteen  battles  inscribed  upon 
it.  Cai)tnred  by  the  thirty-seventh  Massachusetts  volun- 
teer infantry,  third  brigade,  first  division,  sixth  army 
corps,  at  battle  of  Winchester,  September  19,  1864. 

Captor  taken  or  killed. 
G.  L.  Montague,  Lt.  Col.  CovrVg  olth  Mass.  Vols. 

REBEL    NATIONAL    FLAG. 

Captured  September  10,  1864,  near  Winchester,  Vir- 
ginia, by  color-corporal  Charles  B.  Bo  wen,  company  I 
first  New  York  dragoons,  second  brigade,  first  cavalry 
division.  

A  medal  of  honor  has  been  conferred  upon  each  of  the 
captors  of  these  rebel  colors. 

A  medal  has  also  been  awarded  to  corporal  Isaac  Gause, 
company  E  second  Iowa  calvary,  for  giving  important  in- 
formation and  acting  as  a  guide,  by  which  means  the 
capture  of  a  rebel  regiment  was  effected,  September  13, 
1864. 

SUMMARY    OF    CAVALRY  CAPTURES    IN  THE 

SHENANDOAH. 

'*  Headquarters  Fii^st  Cavalry  Division, > 

"November  16,  1S64.  ) 

List   of  property  and  prisoners  captured    by  the  first 

cavalry  division,  from  August  16  to  November  15,  1864: 

Prisoners  of  war — enlisted  men 1,690 

Prisoners  of  war — commissioned  officers 122 

Pieces  of  artillery 29 

Caissons 12 

Army  wngous 36 

Ambulances 41 

Eorges 2 

JMules 112 

Horses 134 

Loss  of  harness 263 


LIFE    OF   MAJOR-GENERAL    SHERIDAN.  171 

CAPTURED   AND    DESTROYED. 

Army  waf^ons  C.  S.  and  U.  S.,  loaded  with  quarter- 
master's and  ordnance  stores 60 

Forges 3 

Caissons 2 

Limbers 4 

Ambulances 28 

Muskets 81 

Battle  flags  captured 14 

Estimate  of  property  destroyed  by  first  cavalry  division 
during  the  campaign  in  the  Shenandoah  valley  : 

NUMBER.  VALUE. 

Barns 630  $1,693,000 

Flour  mills 4Y  314,000 

Tons  of  hay 3,345  103,670 

Bushels  of  wheat 410,742  1,026,105 

•Saw  mills 4  8,000 

Furnaces 3  450,000 

Woolen  mill 1  10,000 

Acres  of  corn 515  18,000 

Bushels  of  oats 750  750 

Cattle  driven  off 1,347  36,380 

Sheep 1,281  6,340 

Swine 725  8,000 

Barrels  of  flour 560  6,720 

Tons  of  straw 255  2,550 

Tons  of  fodder 272           '        .    2,720 

Tanneries 2  '    4,000 

Railroad  depot 1  3,000 

Locomotive  engine 1  10,000 

Box  cars T  1,500 

Total  money  value $3,304,735 

Theodore  W.  Bean,  Quartermaster  and  Provost 

Marshal  First  Cavalry  Division. 


Headquarters  Third  Division,  Cavalry  Corps,  ) 

November  17,  1864.      j 

Property  captured  by  the  third  cavalry  division,  and 

turned  over,  and  receipts  received  therefor  : 

A  rtillery,  pieces 51 

Caissons 30 


172  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

Battery  wagon 1 

Army  wagons 44 

Spring  wagons  and  ambulances 28 

Medicine  wagon 1 

Horses 426 

Mules 189 

Sets  of  artillery  harness 207 

Sets  of  wagon  harness 197 

Heads  of  beef  cattle 152 

Property  destroyed  by  the  third  cavalry  division  : 

NUMBER.  VALUE. 

'riour  mills 15  $100,000 

Saw  mills,..,..., 10  60,000 

Barns,  containing  wheat,  etc...         400  600,000 

Bushels  of  whea't 200,000  400,000 

Bushels  of  corn 300,000  400,009 

Bushels  of  oats 90,000  130,000 

Cattle  driven  off 500  15,000 

Sheep  driven  off 400  8,000 

Columbia  furnace 1  100,000 

Caissons 3  1,000 

Wagons 15  15,000 

Total $1,155,000 

C.  W.  Lee,  Captain  and  Provost  Marshal, 

Third  Cavalry  Division,  M.  M.  D. 

THE   SECOND   CAVALRY   DIVISION. 

The  following  is  a  list  (unofficially)  of  property  captured 
and  destroyed  by  the  second  cavalry  divison  since  August 
1,  1864: 

Thirteen  cannon  captured. 

Ten  caissons  captured. 

One  battery  forge  captured. 

Twenty-five  wagons  captured. 

Five  ambulances  captured. 

Seven  thousand  head  of  cattle  captured. 

Two  thousand  head  of  beef  cattle  captured. 

One  thousand  set  of  horse  equipments  captured. 

Ninety-two  sets  of  artillery  harness  captured. 

Seventy-five  sets  of  wagon  harness  captured. 

Ten  sets  of  ambulance  harness  captured. 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  173 

Three  caissons  destroyed. 
Forty  wagons  destroyed. 
Five  ambulances  destroyed. 

Seven  hundred  thousand  rounds  of  ammunition  de- 
stroyed. 

Three  thousand  stand  of  small  arms  destroyed. 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing,  more  than  two  million 
dollars'  worth  of  property  was  destroyed,  such  as  grain, 
forage,  mills,  tanneries,  factories,  etc. 

In  addition,  also,  to  the  articles  of  property  enumerated 
there  were  taken  by  the  division  within  the  time  specified, 
one  thousand  five  hundred  and  fifty-five  prisoners  ;  killed 
of  the  enemy,  one  hundred  and  fifty,  and  wounded,  five 
hundred,  and  nine  battle  flags  captured.  Also  the  bridge 
of  the  Orange  and  Alexandria  railroad  crossing  at  the 
Kapidan  river. 

In  regard  to  the  above  captures,  etc.,  it  may  be  said  that 
they  were  made  separately,  and  by  direct  attacks.  That 
is,  they  were  not  taken  at  the  time  of  the  general  move- 
ments of  the  army,  but  at  periods  when  the  division 
moved  and  attacked  the  enemy  alone. 

Keferring  to  the  lack  of  cavalry  in  the  first  part  of  the 
last  attacks  on  Richmond,  the  Army  and  Navy  Journal 
savs  : 

There  seems  to  have  been  lack  of  cavalry.  The  divi- 
sions we  had  on  either  side  was  well  employed,  and  Gregg 
had  brisk  fighting.  But  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  has 
now  much  less  of  this  arm  even  than  the  Army  of  the 
Shenandoah.  It  misses  its  cavalry  very  much.  Cavalry 
are  the  eyes  of  an  army.  Cavalry  are  the  antlers  of  an 
army,  wherewith  it  may  feel  its  way.  In  such  a  country 
as  southwestern  Virginia,  cavalry  is  especially  needed. 
Hancock's  left  was  well  protected  with  it,  Gregg  sweeping 
about  through  all  the  country  on  that  flank,  and  afterward 
coming  up  again  to  protect  the  left  and  rear,  when  line 
of  battle  was  formed  on  the  Boydton  plank  road.     This 


174  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

latter  connection  was  not  completed  till  after  mid-daj, 
since  there  was  much  scouting  and  skirmishing  to  do  in 
the  interim.  .  Now,  whether  it  would  have  been  possible 
for  more  cavalry  to  manoeuvre  on  these  particular  roads, 
must  be  considered  from  this  distance,  somewhat  a  matter 
of  conjecture.  But  we  judge  that  such  cavalry  would 
have  been  useful,  and  especially  in  two  ways  :  to  scout 
on  the  intricate  and  tortuous  roads  between  the  second 
and  fifth  corps,  and  to  forewarn  us  of  Mahone's  attack  on 
the  flank. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

TESTi:\rONY  TO  THE  VALUE    OF  AMERICAN    CAVALRY. 

One  cannot  help  noticing  the  great  improvement  in  the 
fighting  qualities  of  the  cavalry  by  their  last  year's  practice. 
Scores  of  instances  were  recorded  by  the  Journal,  in  which 
our  cavalry  were  reported  to  have  been  routed  by  inferior 
numbers  of  rebel  infantry,  in  the  tangled  woods  and 
swamps  of  Virginia  ;  and  scores  of  instances  occurred,  also, 
in  which  our^ infantry  routed  superior  numbers  of  rebel 
cavalry.  Neither  our  cavalry  nor  the  rebel  could  be  ex- 
pected to  contend  with  infantry  and  artillery.  But  there 
is  no  question  that  our  cavalry  grew,  at  last,  to  be  vastly 
superior  to  that  of  the  rebels.  When  Sheridan  took  it  in 
hand,  it  was  almost  amusing  to  notice  the  astonishment 
with  which  the  cavalrymen  found  how  they  were  shoved 
into  battle.  Grant's  instructions  to  Sheridan  at  the  battle 
of  the  \A'iM(Mness,  are  said  to  have  been  "  to  find  the  enemy 
and  whip  him."  The  words  are  so  characteristic  of  Grant, 
and  corresponding  so  nearly  to  the  "  instructions"  he  often 
gave  his  officers,  and  to  the  "  strategy"  he  employed  him- 
self, that,  if  the  story  is  not  true,  it  is  well  invented.   Sheri- 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  175 

(Ian  did  find  the  enemy,  stretching  out  on  our  left  flank, 
and  thouf^h  he  did  not  whip  him,  yet  he  got  his  own  caval- 
ry into  fighting  trim,  and  afterward  led  it  to  be  of  the 
greatest  service.  The  last  movement  of  Sheridan's  cava!, 
rv  was  its  greatest.  And  its  march  from  Winchester  to 
White  House,  and  from  White  House  to  Dinwiddle,  to  turn 
Lee's  right,  and  its  part  in  the  engagements  and  final  pur- 
suit, are  worthy  of  the  greatest  praise. 

These  statements,  which  we  find  in  an  able  review  of 
Colonel  Brackett's  "  History  of  the  United  States  Cavalry,'' 
in  the  ^^  Army  and  Navy  Journal,''^  are  all  abundantly  veri- 
fied by  history  ;  Mexico  and  the  last  war  fully  attest  their 
truth. 

The  Mounted  Rifles  were  sent  to  Oregon,  under  Loring, 
and,  meanwhile,  in  1850,  Hardee  made  a  campaign  against 
the  Camanches  and  Apaches,  in  which  Steen,  Oaks,  Grier 
and  others  were  distinguished.  In  1851  and  1852,  Colonel 
Sumner  made  his  march  to  the  canon  of  Chelly,  in  New 
Mexico.  Colonel  Brackett  says  that  "  in  the  canon  of 
Chelly,  Sumner's  dragoons  did  not  gather  many  laurels, 
though  they  did  their  duty  ;  but  the  Indians  were  too 
wily  for  them,  and,  lining  the  sides  of  the  pass,  or  canon, 
they  rolled  down  rocks,  fired  guns,  and  shot  arrows  at 
our  troops,  until  they  w^ere  glad  to  retrace  their  steps. 
It  was,  I  believe,  on  this  march  that  the  song  was  composed 
by  a  soldier,  which  nearly  all  cavalrymen  know,  and 
which  is  sung  to  the  tune  of  the  'Stable-call.'  It  runs 
thus  : 

"  Come  off  to  the  stables,  all  if  you  are  able, 

And  give  your  horses  some  oats  and  some  corn  ; 

For  if  you  don't  do  it  the  colonel  will  know  it, 
And  then  you  will  rue  it  as  sure's  you're  born." 

The  following  extract  is  taken  from  Colonel  Brackett's 
"  History  of  the  United  States  Cavalry." 

All  cavalry  in  the  United  States  service  is  light  cavalry. 


176  LIFE   OF  MAJOR-GENERAL    SHERIDAN". 

Now  the  question  will  be  asked  what  is  the  distinction  be- 
tween the  light  and  heavy  cavalry  and  the  dragoons. 

Heavy  cavalry  in  the  European  armies  consists  of  large 
men  in  defensive  armor,  mounted  on  heavy,  powerful 
horses.  The  power  of  this  arm  lies  in  the  strength  and 
breeding  of  the  horses,  and  the  courage  and  activity  of  the 
riders.  The  men  wear  helmets,  and  cuirasses,  and  heavy 
equipments.  The  helmet  is  a  piece  of  defensive  armor  or 
covering  for  the  head,  worn  by  nearly  all  of  the  cavalry 
regiments  of  Europe,  and  has  been  found,  after  ages  of 
use,  to  be  the  only  proper  head-covering  for  mounted 
men.  Our  own  big,  unwieldy  uniform  felt  hat  is  nothing 
more  or  less  than  ridiculous,  and  our  forage  cap  is  little 
better. 

The  helmets  worn  by  the  soldiers  of  olden  times  were 
some  of  them  models  of  beauty,  strength  and  grace.  The 
helmet  of  the  Romans  was  a  head-piece  of  iron  or  brass^ 
which  descended  behind  as  far  as  the  shoulders,  and  left 
the  face  uncovered.  Upon  the  top  was  the  crest,  in  adorn- 
ing which  the  soldiers  took  great  pride.  The  usual  adorn- 
ment was  horse-hair,  or  feathers  of  divers  colors.  The 
helmets  of  the  officers  were  sometimes  very  splendid,  being 
adorned  with  gold  and  silver.  A  dragon  was  used  as  the 
crest  of  the  helmet  by  the  mounted  soldiers  in  the  middle 
ages,  hencethe  name  dragoon. 

The  cuirass  is  another  piece  of  defensive  armor,  made 
of  plate  well  hammered,  serving  to  cover  the  body  from  the 
neck  to  the  waist  both  before  and  behind,  called  breast  and 
back  plate.  The  cuirassiers  of  the  armies  of  Europe  wear 
the  cuirass.  The  helmets  worn  by  the  Russian  soldiers 
are  both  serviceable  and  beautiful. 

The  heavy  cavalry,  then,  consists  of  heavy  men  and 
heavy  horses,  who  are  used  upon  occasion  to  hurl  down 
upon  the  enemy,  and  by  their  weight  alone  overpower 
them.     It  is  questionable  whether  they  are  of  much  ser- 


LIFE   OF    MAJOR-GENERAL   SRERIDAN.  177 

vice,  and  no  doubt  we  are  as  well  off  without  them.  They 
are  incapable  of  doing  the  same  duty  that  is  required  of 
the  light  cavalry,  as  even  short  marches  break  down  both 
men  and  horses.  They  are  more  formidable  in  appearance 
than  in  reality. 

Dragoons  are  next  to  be  considered.  They  were  origi- 
nally organized  to  act  either  as  cavalry  or  infantry  skir- 
mishers— a  sort  of  hybrid  corps  ^o  do  duty  on  foot  or  on 
horseback  ;  now  they  are  simply  a  body  of  regular  caval- 
ry soldiers,  in  some  countries  divided  into  heavy  and  light 
dragoons. 

All  of  the  cavalry  which  has  been  organized  in  the 
United  States  is  properly  designated  as  light  cavalry.  The 
laws  of  Congress  made  two  regiments  of  dragoons,  one  of 
mounted  riflemen,  and  two  of  cavalry.  It  was  no  doubt 
intended  to  make  the  dragoons  and  cavalry  all  one  arm, 
but  a  fault  in  the  law,  which  was  subsequently  remedied, 
made  it  otherwise,  and  Jefferson  Davis,  who  was  Secre- 
tary of  War,  took  advantage  of  it,  and  made  two  arms, 
thereby  securing  promotion  for  his  favorites  in  the  caval- 
ry arm  without  reference  to  the  dragoons.  Army  men 
will  readily  understand  this  distinction. 

During  the  Mexican  war  the  dragoons  were  armed 
with  musketoons,  which  were  carried  on  sling-belts, 
except  when  marching,  dragoon  sabres  of  the  Prussian 
pattern,  and  horse-pistols.  This  was  unchanged  for  sev- 
eral years  afterward.  The  Mounted  Rifles  were  armed 
with  percussion  rifles  and  Colt's  army  revolvers — no  sabres. 
The  revolvers  were  supplied  to  all  cavalrymen  as  soon  as 
was  convenient.  The  cavalry  regiments  were  armed  with 
sabres,  rifle  carbines,  and  Colt's  navy  revolvers.  Why 
they  were  not  armed  with  army  revolvers  no  person  could 
ever  give  a  good  reason.  The  sabre  in  Indian  fighting  is 
simply  a  nuisance  ;  they  jingle  abominably,  and  are  of  no 
earthly  use.     If  a  soldier  gets  close  enough  to  an  Indian 


178  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL  SHERIDAN. 

to  use  a  sabre,  it  is  about  an  even  thing  as  to  which  goes 
under  first. 

The  trimming  of  the  dragoon  jacliets  after  the  close  of 
the  Mexican  war  was  orange,  and  that  of  the  Rifles 
green.  The  cavahy  had,  and  still  have,  yellow.  The 
dragoons  and  Rifles  exulted  in  what  was  known  as  the 
"  Albert  hat,"  with  orange  and  green  pompons.  The 
cavalry  got — God  knows  where — the  "  cavalry  hat  " 
familiar  to  theatre  goers  as  that  worn  b}'  Fra  Diavolo.  If 
the  whole  earth  had  been  ransacked,  it  is  difficult  to  tell 
where  a  more  ungainly  piece  of  furniture  could  have  been 
found.  It  is  now  used  by  the  whole  army,  being  some- 
w^hat  more  unwieldy  than  the  original  pattern.  It  seems 
to  me  that  soldiers  take  delight  in  seeing  into  w^hat  ludic- 
rous shapes  they  can  get  these  hats,  with  a  tassel  hanging 
in  front,  on  one  side,  or  behind,  and  a  black  ostrich  feather, 
which,  after  one  or  two  wettings,  has  a  most  bedraggled 
and  wilted  appearance.  The  forage  cap  is  a  poor  imitation 
of  the  French  kepis,  and  seems  with  us  to  run  mostly  to 
visor.  The  old  fashioned  dragoon  cap  was  both  graceful 
and  soldierly. 

The  saddle  used  in  the  cavalry  now  is  that  known  as 
the  McClellan  saddle,  which  was  patented  after  his  visit  to 
Europe  by  General  McClellan.  The  soldiers  like  it,  as  it 
is  easy  to  ride  on,  and  does  not  give  a  horse  a  sore  back 
unless  carelessly  used.  Men  who  ride  saddles  are  generally 
the  best  judges  of  them,  though  heads  of  department 
sometimes  think  differently.  It  is  fair,  then,  to  say  that 
the  saddle,  if  it  had  a  breast-strap,  is  a  good  one,  as  it  has 
the  verdict  of  the  men  in  its  favor.  I  do  not  like  the 
bridle  so  well.  The  bit  is  ordinarily  too  powerful  for  the 
horse  ;  it  is  made  of  poor  steel,  and  the  curb-chain  is  apt 
to  straighten  out  upon  pulling  the  reins.  This  could,  no 
doubt,  be  remedied.  I  think,  however,  a  decided  improve- 
ment could  be  made  in  the  choice  of  bits. 


I 


LTFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAX.  179 

The  swiftest  horses  are  not  always  the  best  in  cavalry. 
If  all  were  equally  fast,  it  would  be  very  well,  but,  in 
making  a  charge  upon  any  given  point,  a  few  horses  will 
always  come  out  ahead,  and  leave  their  companions  far  in 
the  rear.  Officers  who  insist  upon  their  men  preserving 
their  lines  in  a  charge,  insist  upon  an  impossibility. 

Another  subject  has  impressed  itself  strongly  upon  my 
mind,  which  is  the  fact  that,  in  our  regular  service,  the 
horses  are  groomed  too  much.  I  cannot  say  that  this 
applies  to  volunteers.  In  my  own  experience,  the  fault 
with  them  lies  the  other  wav.  What  I  mean  is  this,  that 
in  -winter  time,  when  the  w^eather  is  cold,  and  the  horses, 
as  is  almost  always  the  case  with  us,  are  without  suitable 
shelter,  the  grooming  the  horse  one  hour  at  daybreak,  and 
one  hour  just  before  sunset,  is  absolutely  hurtful.  Some 
cavalry  officers,  who  have  been  taught  certain  rules,  insist 
upon  the  men  keeping  at  work  steadily  one  hour  on  each 
horse,  without  any  regard  to  time,  place,  circumstances, 
or  any  thing  else.  Kow,  in  the  fine  stables  which  the 
military  of  France  and  Great  Britian  have,  it  may  do  well 
to  keep  the  horses  looking  sleek-coated,  giving  them  each 
day  gentle  exercise ;  but  with  us,  who  have  our  poor  ani- 
mals trembling  the  great  part  of  the  winter  from  sheer 
cold,  it  is  worse  than  nonsense  to  tear  up  their  hides  each 
day  by  means  of  the  curry-comb  and  brush.  The  pores 
are  left  open,  the  skin  is  scratched,  and  the  wretched  ani- 
mal stands  crouched  up  all  night,  suffering  from  the  effects 
of  this  well-meant,  but  this  ill-administered  grooming. 
The  condition  of  our  poor  horses  sometimes  in  winter  is 
such  as  to  make  any  heart  susceptible  of  pity  feel  the 
most  profound  sorrow.  But  this  I  do  not  find  fault  with  ; 
in  actual  campaign  both  men  and  horses  must  suffer,  but 
do  not  let  us  cavalry  people  make  our  only  friends — our 
horses — suffer  unnecessarily.  British  and  French  officers 
may  think  this  singular  advice,  but  they  must  recollect 
11 


180  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

that  their  cavalry  force  is  small  compared  with  ours,  and 
they  have  every  convenience  to  make  themselves  and  their 
horses  comfortable — good  stables,  plenty  of  forage,  and 
nice  roads  to  travel  upon. 

About  marching,  too,  a  few  hints  may  not  be  amiss. 
-,  In  starting  out  after  feeding,  let  the  horses  walk  about  one 
hour,  when  a  halt  of  fifteen  minutes  ought  to  be  sounded. 
Let  the  men  close  up,  and  then  dismount.  This  eases  the 
horse,  gives  him  a  chance  to  breathe  a  short  time,  and 
makes  him  feel  better.  When  ready  to  start,  tighten  up 
the  girths,  which  will  be  found  to  have  slackened  up,  one 
or  two  holes.  Do  not  let  the  saddle  be  loose  on  the  back  ; 
it  should  sit  snug ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  caution  all 
soldiers  not  to  draw  too  tightly,  as  I  have  seen  some 
dreadful  sores  made  on  horses'  sides  by  the  ring  and  strap 
which  is  used  on  the  McClellan  saddle,  and  which  is  bor- 
rowed from  the  Mexicans. 

About  riding,  I  have  to  say  that  soldiers  must  learn  to 
ride  themselves,  and  time  alone  will  make  good  riders. 
Some  men  never  do  know  how  to  ride,  and  never  learn. 
The  sooner  they  are  got  rid  of  the  better.  Great,  beefy 
creatures  some  of  them  are,  who  have  no  more  elasticity 
than  a  dead  animal,  and  who  worry  and  fret  their  poor 
horses  almost  to  madness.  Our  men  are  generally  (I 
mean  the  Americans)  natural  riders,  and  soon  become 
good  horsemen.  They  quickly  learn  how  to  take  care 
of  horses.  This  is  particularly  the  case  where  the  men 
become  attached  to  their  animals,  and  make  pets  of  them. 
I  have  known  many  a  soldier  to  sit  up  half  the  night  in 
order  to  get  a  chance  to  steal  a  feed  for  his  horse.  This 
venial  offence  is  forgiven  generally  by  the  officers.  The 
quartermasters  are  the  sufferers,  but  they  always  manage 
some  way  to  keep  even. 

As  to  riders,  the  United  States  cavalry,  under  the  old 
system,  had  few  superiors.     The  English,  as  a  general 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  181 

thing,  are  most  wretched  riders,  and  it  is  no  wonder  that 
they  are  ahuost  universally  whipped  whenever  they  go  into 
battle.  The  "  bumping  "  up  and  down  on  their  saddles  is 
not  only  excruciating  to  themselves,  but  ruinous  to  their 
unfortunate  animals.  Nolan,  in  his  work  on  cavalry, 
speaks  in  the  most  disparaging  terms  of  the  English 
cavalry,  as  does  Lieutenant-General  Sir  Charles  James 
Napier:  and  no  doubt  justly  so,  as  it  is  hard  to  imagine 
a  more  helpless  body  hf  men  than  they  are.  Poor  Nolan 
himself  lost  his  life  while  charging  at  Balaklava,  where 
the  English  horse  was  entirely  cut  to  pieces  by  the 
Russians. 

After  a  hard  day's  march,  or,  indeed,  any  march  in  hot 
weather,  upon  halting,  the  saddle  should  be  removed,  the 
saddle-blanket  turned  and  left  on  the  horse,  strapped  on 
by  the  surcingle.  This  will  prevent  saddle-boils.  After 
the  saddle  is  removed,  nearly  every  horse  wishes  to  roll. 
He  should  be  allowed  to  do  so,  the  man  keeping  hold  of 
the  halter-strap  or  lariat  while  he  is  rolling.  Ordinary 
marches  for  cavalry  should  not  exceed  eighteen  miles  per 
day.  The  horses  should  be  w^atered  once  or  twice  on  the 
march,  if  it  is  convenient,  and  should  be  allowed  to  drink 
as  much  water  as  they  want,  provided  they  are  moved  on 
after  drinking,  but  on  no  account  should  they,  after  march- 
ing some  distance,  be  allowed  to  drink  and  cool.  If  this 
is  permitted,  nine  cases  out  of  ten  the  animals  will  be 
foundered.  Officers  should  be  continually  on  their  guard 
watching  recruits  in  this  respect,  as  1^  its  neglect  many  a 
fine  animal  has  been  ruined.  In  cold  weather  care  should 
be  taken  to  see  that  the  horses  are  well  blanketed  during 
the  night,  and,  if  necessary,  men  should  be  detailed  to  keep 
the  blankets  on,  as  horses  are  apt  to  rub  or  kick  them  off. 
No  man  can  be  a  good  cavalry  officer  unless  he  is  continu- 
ally on  the  alert,  looking  out  for  the  welfare  of  his  horses. 


182  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

Cavalry  soldiers  generally  ho  well  enough  for  themselves, 
but  cavalry  horses  must  be  looked  after. 

A  march  of  a  thousand  miles  is  a  better  school  for  a 
recruit  than  all  of  the  riding-halls  ever  built,  and  United 
States  soldiers  are  often  sent  across  the  continent  of 
Korth  America  merely  as  a  part  of  a  summer  campaign. 

Ilorses,  shoes  should  be  inspected  frequently,  as,  in  spite 
of  every  care,  shoes  are  sometimes  left  on  too  long,  and 
sometimes  they  are  knocked  off,  and'^he  horse,  on  a  rocky 
road,  becomes  lame  at  once.  The  Indians  never  shoe 
their  horses ;  the  hoofs  of  their  animals  become  as  hard 
nearly  as  flint.  They  go  over  the  rockiest  roads  with  our 
cavalry  chasing  them,  and  as  soon  as  the  shoes  of  our 
horses  are  torn  off  by  the  rocks  they  become  disabed,  and 
the  Indians  laugh  at  our  efforts  to  overtake  them. 

The  shoeing  tools  of  the  farrier  should  consist  of  a  thoe- 
ing  knife,  a  toe  knife,  a  shoeing  hammer,  a  clinching  iron, 
a  clinch-cutter,  a  pair  of  pincers,  and  a  rasp.  What  is 
known  as  a  buttress  should  never  be  used,  nor  ought  a 
shoe  to  be  put  on  while  hot,  any  more  than  is  sufficient  to 
show  that  it  is  of  the  right  shape.  When  starting  on  a 
march  each  horse  ought  to  have  two  shoes  at  least  fitted, 
so  that  the  farrier  will  have  nothing  to  do  but  nail  them 
on  in  case  any  are  lost  while  travelling.  Altogether  too 
little  attention  is  paid  to  shoeing  by  cavalry  officers. 
Whatever  relates  to  the  care  and  training  of  his  horses  is 
a  part  of  his  profession,  and  the  smallest  matter  ought  not 
to  be  neglected. 

A  good  rider  will  always  make  a  good  raider. 

As  to  the  equipment,  there  is  no  doubt  but  there  is  now 
too  much  weight  on  the  waist-belt.  The  sabre  hangs  on 
it,  also  the  cartridge  box,  with  twenty  or  forty  rounds  in 
it,  and  the  revolver.  This  is  altogether  too  much,  and 
breaks  many  a  man  down,  causing  disease  of  various 
kinds,  which  are  ruinous  to  cavalrymen.     Some  system  of 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  183 

shoulder-belts  ought  to  be  devised  to  lighten  up  the  strain 
which  now  bears  with  so  much  weight  and  such  ill  effects 
upon  a  particular  part  of  the  body. 

Our  sabres  are  never  really  sharp,  and  good  officers 
think  there  is  no  way  of  keeping  them  so  as  long  as  we 
continue  to  use  the  steel  scabbard.  But  the  question  is, 
what  are  we  going  to  get  to  replace  it  with  ?  Nolan  says 
the  sabres  used  by  the  East  India  native  cavalry  are  coq- 
demned  English  sword-blades,  sharpened  to  the  keenest 
edge,  and  kept  in  wooden  scabbards.  They  are  never 
drawn  except  in  action,  where,  according  to  his  account, 
they  do  dreadful  execution. 

Our  revolvers,  of  Colt's  pattern,  cannot  at  present  be 
much  improved  upon. 

Sharp's  carbines  are  the  favorite  cavalry  carbines, 
though  upon  this  subject  there  is  a  diversity  of  opinion, 
each  commander  having  some  pet  arm  which  he  thinks 
superior  to  any  other.  Our  cavalrymen  ought  to  have 
good  carbines,  as  our  general  officers  employ  them  in  every 
conceivable  way ;  and  it  is  really  surprising  how  much, 
and  how  many  different  kinds  of  work  they  are  called 
upon  to  perform.  Some  of  our  sapient  political  brigadier- 
generals  can  use  up  a  cavalry  regiment  with  a  rapidity 
truly  astonishing,  and  their  ignorance  is  only  exceeded  by 
their  conceit.  In  our  rebellion,  in  many  instances,  the 
less  a  man  knew  about  military  matters,  the  better  officer 
he  was  supposed  to  be. 

Within  the  last  eighteen  months  there  has  been  a  de- 
cided improvement  in  the  carbines  and  accoutrements 
which  have  been  issued  to  the  cavalrv.  It  is  now  con- 
ceded  that  the  Spencer  carbine,  or  rifle,  is  by  all  odds  the 
best  shooting  weapon  ever  issued  to  mounted  men  ;  and 
the  cartridge-box  invented  by  Colonel  Erastus  Blakeslee, 
late  of  the  first  regiment  of  Connecticut  cavalry,  leaves 
but  little  to  be  desired.     This  cartridge-box  is  carried  by 


184:  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

a  belt  over  the  right  shoulder,  thus  relieving  the  strain  on 
the  abdomen.  With  it  seven  cartridges  are  loaded  as 
quickly  as  one  by  the  ordinary  method,  and  it  is  more 
easily  carried  than  any  box  in  use. 


The  world-wide  fame  of  our  American  cavalry,  as  a 
distinctive  body,  commences  almost,  as  has  been  said, 
with  the  present  war  ;  and  by  brilliant  names  the  service 
is  illuminated.  At  the  head  of  the  list,  in  our  opinion, 
stand  the  memorable  names  of  John  Buford  and  Philip 
H.  Sheridan.  They  are  par  excellence  the  American 
cavalry  leaders.  John  Buford,  alas,  died  before  his  name 
could  ring  through  the  world,  or  even  through  the  coun- 
try, as  it  did  among  his  friends  and  among  the  students 
of  the  art  of  war.  He  died  on  the  16th  day  of  December, 
1863,  before  the  great  final  campaign  had  begun.  His 
granite  monument  at  West  Point  records  the  simple  story 
of  the  affection  of  the  officers  and  men  of  his  command, 
by  whom  it  was  erected.  He  was  the  best  of  cavalry 
officers  while  he  lived,  and  the  most  promising  when  he 
died.  He  was  the  personification  of  bravery,  coolness, 
skill,  prescience  in  battle,  and  overflowing  kindness  to 
his  men.  Of  these  qualities  a  thousand  instances  could 
be  related.  His  successor  in  command  of  the  cavalry  of 
the  army  of  the  Potomac,  the  renowned  "Phil  Sheridan," 
achieved  greater  distinction  with  that  body,  and  far  wider 
reputation,  by  means  of  a  more  vigorous  leadership  in 
the  army  in  general,  and  by  a  personal  dash  and  deter- 
mination worthy  of  the  highest  praise. 

Sheridan  did  not  so  much  add  new  principles  or  new 
education  to  the  cavalry  force.  He  did  not  arrange  it  in 
any  peculiar  and  brilliant  style  of  organization  and  dis- 
cipline. As  an  organizer  and  disciplinarian,  indeed,  he 
would  not  claim  to  be  distinguished  ;  but  he  fought  it 
through  thick  and  thin.     He  fought  it  as  it  had  never 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL    SHERIDA.V.  185 

before  been  fought.  He  knew  no  such  word  as  failure. 
He  was  "irrepressible."  If  repulsed,  he  quickly  went  at 
it  again.  In  a  single  word,  he  fought  this  army  as  Grant 
did  the  whole  tremendous  army  of  the  Potomac,  with  the 
irresistible  force  of  a  Suwarrow.  His  victories  in  the 
valley  of  the  Shenandoah  were  those  which  first  entitled 
him  to  general  applause,  though  he  had  made  daring  raids 
previously,  and  of  course  had  had  a  record  fine  enough  to 
gain  his  appointment  to  high  command.  At  Cedar  creek 
he  "plucked  up  drowning  honor  by  the  locks."  Review- 
ing that  occurrence,  the  Journal  declared  he  could  claim 
to  be  the  Desaix  of  the  war.  Desaix,  who  on  the  noon 
of  Marengo,  glancing  at  his  watch,  said,  "  It  is  a  battle 
lost,  but  it  is  not  too  late  to  win  another" — was  equalled 
by  Sheridan,  riding  with  foaming  horse  from  Winchester 
to  Middletown,  in  season  to  save  the  day.  And  the 
London  Times  of  August  16th,  in  decrying  what  is  called 
Sheridan's  "  irrepressible  rhodomontade"  on  the  Mexican 
*'  campaign,  in  air  projected  by  his  very  hot  and  vigorous 
Irish  brain,"  yet  added:  "We  must  speak  of  the  man, 
militarily,  with  great  respect.  He  was  the  Desaix  of  the 
civil  war,  one  of  the  few  generals  in  history  who,  joining 
an  army  defeated,  re- won  the  lost  battle  on  the  spot,  by 
leading  beaten  troops  to  a  victorious  charge."  Sheridan, 
indeed,  added  to  the  cavalry  the  very  element  it  wanted, 
that  of  "  dash,"  combined  with  a  bull-dog  stubbornness. 
His  achievements  in  turning  the  right  flank  of  Lee  at 
Five  Forks,  and  in  the  subsequent  pursuit,  culminated 
his  reputation  as  the  first  of  American  cavalrymen  in  the 
field. 

Apropos  to  American  cavalry  achievements,  a  late 
number  of  the  Army  and  Navy  Journal  adds  : 

"  We  have  seen  with  great  pleasure  a  series  of  sketches 
illustrating  the  final  march  of  Sheridan's  cavalry  of  the 
army  of  the  Potomac  from  AVinchester  to  White  House, 


186  LIFE    OF    MAJOR-GENERAL    SHERIDAN. 

and  from  White  House  via  Dinwiddie  to  Appomattox 
Court  House.  In  this  grand  movement,  which  began 
with  badly  breaking  one  of  Lee's  lines  of  communication 
with  the  rear,  and  ended  in  turning  his  right  flank,  after 
the  gallant  action  at  Five  Forks,  the  cavalry  bore  a  con- 
spicuous part.  The  sketches  were  made  upon  the  spot, 
and  are  of  unusual  taste  and  perfect  accuracy.  They  em- 
brace many  views  of  the  cavalry  on  the  march  at  different 
points  ;  of  Lee's  treaty,  camp,  and  surrender ;  of  promi- 
nent officers  of  both  armies,  etc.  The  artist  is  Major 
J.  Spreadburg,  who  served  as  assistant  adjutant-general 
in  the  cavalry  corps,  and  as  A.  L  G.  cavalry,  M.  M.  di- 
vision. We  should  like  to  see  these  sketches  published, 
with  a  running  and  official  commentary  on  the  scenes  they 
set  forth." 


165.  j 


OFFICIAL    REPORT. 

"  Headquarters  Fifth  Army  Corps, 
"  Nottoway  Court  House,  Ya.,  April  29,  1865. 
"Lieutenant- Colonel  F.  C.  Newhall,  Assistant  Adju- 
tant-General, Headquarters  Cavalry  Corps: 
"  Colonel  : — I  have  the  honor  to  submit  the  following 
report  of  the  operations  of  my  command  while  serving 
under  Major-General  Sheridan  : 

"  On  the  morning  of  April  1st,  the  first  division,  fifth 
army  corps,  which  was  then  holding  a  position  on  the 
White  Oak  mad,  near  the  Dabney  house,  was  ordered  by 
Major-Geiieral  Warren  to  move  at  5  a.m.,  in  the  direc-r 
tion  of  Dinwiddie  Court  House,  and  report  to  Major- 
General  Sheridan.  After  moving  something  over  three 
miles,  the  cavalry  division  under  General  Deven  was 
met,  when  the  first  division  was  halted,  and  its  presence 
soon  after  reported  to  the  major  general  commanding. 
Major-General  Warren  arrived  between  9  and  10  a.  m., 
and  the  troops  remained  massed  at  this  point  until  about 
two  o'clock,  p.  M.,  when  they  were  moved  to  within 
about  a  mile  of  Five  Forks,  where  the  corps  was  placed 
in  line  of  battle  ;  the  first  division  being  on  the  right  flank 
formed  in  three  lines,  with  one  brigade  on  its  right  in 


LIFE   OF    MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN".  187 

echelon,  the  third  division,  Brevet  Major-General  Craw, 
ford,  in  the  centre,  and  the  second  division.  Brevet  Major- 
General  Ayres,  on  the  left. 

"  Immediately  after  the  order  to  advance  against  the 
enemy  was  given,  (who  was  supposed  to  be  intrenched  at 
Five  Forks,)  with  instructions  to  the  division,  that  after 
it  had  crossed  the  road  it  was  to  change  direction  to  the 
left,  so  as  to  strike  the  enemy  in  flank  or  rear.  After  ad- 
vancing about  a  mile,  and  finding  nothing  in  front,  save  a 
few  cavalry  videttes,  and  there  being  heavy  volleys  of 
musketry  to  the  left  and  rear,  the  division  was  halted,  and 
upon  a  personal  examination,  it  was  found  that  the  enemy 
was  moving  up  the  White  Oak  road.  Immediately  the 
division  was  faced  by  the  left  flank,  and  marched  some 
four  or  five  hundred  yards,  when  its  direction  as  to  the 
line  of  battle  was  changed  perpendicularly  to  the  left,  and 
moved  down  at  a  double-quick  upon  the  enemy,  who  was 
visible  some  three-quarters  of  a  mile  distant,  moving  up  the 
White  Oak  road.  The  enemy's  rifle-pits  were  taken,  to- 
gether with  about  (see  note)  fifteen  hundred  prisoners  and 
several  flags.  Here  a  little  confusion  resulted  from  the  troops 
exchanging  shots  with  the  cavalry,  who  were  coming  up  in 
front  of  the  enemy's  works.  After  a  few  minutes'  delay, 
the  line  of  battle  was  again  changed  perpendicularly  to 
the  White  Oak  road  and  the  enemy's  works.  This  change 
brought  the  first  division  on  the  left  of  the  third.  The 
command  was  then  pushed  forward  along  the  rifle-pits, 
capturing  prisoners,  and  driving  the  enemy  before 
it,  until  they  advanced  to  the  Five  Forks,  where  the 
cavalry  and  infantry  met,  capturing  five  guns,  several 
caissons,  and  the  third  brigade,  first  division,  taking  on 
the  Fork  road  a  train  of  wagons  and  ambulances  belong- 
to  Pickett's  division.  About  this  point  Major-General 
Sheridan  in  person  directed  me  to  take  command  of  the 
fifth  corps,  and  push  the  enemy  down  the  White  Oak 
road.  I  immediately  directed  General  Ayres  and  the 
other  commanders  to  push  forward  with  all  possible 
despatch,  and  the  pursuit  was  kept  up  until  after  dark,  when 
the  command  was  halted,  the  cavalry  having  pushed  to 
the  front,  out  of  sight  and  hearing  of  the  infantry.  Soon 
after  this  an  order  was  received  from  the  major-general 
commanding,  to  withdraw  the  corps  some  three  miles,  and 


188  LIFE    OF    MAJOR-GENERAL    SHERIDAN. 

camp  near  Gravelly  Run  church.     The   corps  went   in 
bivouac  about  11  p.  m. 

"On  the  morning  of  April  2d,  the  command  moved 
down  the  White  Oak  road  some  two  miles,  and  massed 
near  the  Dabney  house,  where  it  remained  until  about 
11  A.  M.,  when  it  returned  to  the  Five  Forks,  and  moved 
across  Hatcher's  run,  on  the  Ford  road,  and  across  the 
Soulhside  railroad  to  the  Coxe  road,  driving  the  enemy's 
cavalry  (Fitz  Hugh  Lee's  division)  before  it,  and  camping 
at  night  at  the  Williamson  house,  at  the  intersection  of 
the  Naraozine  road  with  the  River  road.  The  third 
division  under  General  Crawford,  was  detached  at  this 
point,  and  directed  to  co-operate  with  General  Merritt, 
who  was  confronting  the  enemy  near  the  Namozine  river. 

"April  3d. — The  command  moved  along  the  River  road 
to  the  Namozine  creek,  thence  across  to  the  ford  taken  by 
the  cavalry,  bivouacking  for  the  night  in  the  vicinity  of 
Deep  creek. 

"April  4th. — The  command  moved  at  five  o'clock,  A.  m., 
via  Dennisville,  and  before  dark  was  found  in  line  of 
battle  below  Jetersville,  with  its  left  extending  across  the 
Danville  railroad.  During  the  night  a  line  of  rifle-pits 
was  constructed  in  front  of  the  corps.  The  command  re- 
mained in  this  position  during  the  whole  of  the  5th  inst. 

"At  7.40  p.  M.,  April  5th,  an  order  was  received  from 
the  major-general  commanding  directing  me  to  report  for 
orders  to  Major-General  Meade,  commanding  the  army 
of  the  Potomac. 

"  On  the  morning  of  the  2d,  at  the  Five  Forks,  between 
three  and  four  thousand  stand  of  arms  and  several  caissons 
and  wagons  were  destroyed,  there  being  no  transportation 
for  them. 

"  I  desire  to  call  to  the  especial  attention  of  the  major- 
general  commanding,  Brevet  Major-Generals  Aj^res  and 
Bartlett,  Brigadier-General  Chamberlain,  and  Brevet  Brig- 
adier-General Gregory,  for  their  efficiency  and  promptness 
in  executing  mv  orders,  and  in  the  managementof  their  com- 
mands  in  the  battle  of  the  1st  inst.  ;  also  Lieutenant-Col- 
onel Richardson,  commanding  seventh  Wisconsin  veteran 
volunteers,  who  came  under  my  personal  observation — he 
handled  his  regiment  with  great  ability,  and  displayed 
great  energy  in  pushing  his  command  after  the  enemy. 

"The  number  of  prisoners  captured  from  the  enemy 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL  SHERIDAN".  189 

and  received  by  the  provost-marshal  of  the  corps  on  the 
1st  inst. ,  was  three  thousand  two  hundred  and  forty-four, 
including  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  officers.  The  num- 
ber picked  up  on  the  subsequent  days  was  nine  hundred 
and  forty-four,  including  forty-two  officers. 

"A  report  of  flags  captured  and  the  names  of  the  cap- 
tors, has  already  been  forwarded  with  the  flags,  to  the 
headquarters  of  the  cavalry  corps. 

"  I  submit  herewith  a  list — numerical  and  tabular — of 
the  casualties  in  my  command  in  the  battle  of  the  1st  inst. 

"  I  am,  colonel,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 
"  Chas.  Griffin,  Brevet  Major- General.^'' 

"Note. — The  official  report  from  the  commanding  offi- 
cer first  division,  states  the  number  of  prisoners  taken  by 
the  division  on  the  1st  inst.,  to  be  as  follows : 

''  First  brigade,  one  thousand  and  fifty  men,  two  colonels, 
six  captains,  and  eleven  lieutenants  ;  second  brigade,  four 
hundred  and  seventy-five  men  ;  third  brigade,  eight  hun- 
dred and  forty-nine  men,  three  captains,  and  five  lieu- 
tenants. Total,  twenty-seven  officers  and  two  thousand 
three  hundred  and  seventy-four  men. 

"  There  were  three  brass  guns  (light  twelve-pounders) 
abandoned  by  the  enemy  upon  the  Namozine  road,  and 
hauled  in  and  turned  over  by  my  direction.  These  guns 
have  not  been  mentioned  in  the  body  of  this  report. 

"In  compliance  with  orders  from  Major-General  Sheri- 
dan, received  April  5th,  at  1.40  P.  m.,  I  reported  to 
Major-General  Meade,  with  the  fifth  corps,  at  Jetersville, 
for  orders.  At  6  a.  m.,  on  the  6th  inst.,  in  compliance 
with  orders  from  headquarters  army  of  the  Potomac,  the 
fifth  corps  moved  from  Jetersville,  along  the  Danville  rail- 
road, in  the  direction  of  Amelia  Court  House,  to  attack 
the  enemy,  the  second  division,  under  General  Ayres, 
taking  the  advance,  the  sixth  corps  connecting  on  the 
right,  and  the  second  corps  on  the  left.  After  moving 
about  three  miles,  to  a  place  called  "  Smith's  shop,"  un- 
doubted evidence  was  received  that  the  enemy  had  left 
our  front,  and  had  gone  westward.  The  command  was 
halted,  and  this  information  sent  to  the  major-general 
commanding,  when  orders  were  received  to  move  to  the 
north  on  the  Pridersville  road,  thence  to  move  on  the 
right   of  the    army.       The    advance   was   continued,  via 


190  LIFE    OF    MAJOR- GE NEE AL   SHERIDAN. 

Painesville,  to  the  vicinity  of  Ligenstone  ferry,  meeting 
with  no  opposing  forces  save  small  detachments  of  cav- 
alry, and  capturing  about  three  hundred  prisoners  and 
many  wagons.  The  distance  marched  this  day  was 
thirty-two  miles. 

"April  Yth,  moved  at  5  A.  M.,  in  obedience  to  instruc- 
tions, for  Farmsville,  via  Rice's  store  ;  the  head  of  the 
column  arriving  near  High  bridge,  orders  were  received  at 
9.30  A.  M.  to  pass  in  rear  of  the  second  and  sixth  corps, 
and  move  with  all  possible  despatch  to  Prince  Edward's 
Court  House,  which  point  was  reached  about  Y.30  P.  m., 
marching  about  twenty  miles. 

"  April  8th  the  corps  marched  toward  the  Lynchburg 
railroad,  in  obedience  to  the  following  order : 

"  'Headquarters  Armies  United  States,} 
"  '  Farmville,  April,  T,  1865.     j 
"  '  General  Meade  : 

" '  Order  the  fifth  corps  to  follow  the  twenty-fourth,  at  6 
a.  m.,  up  the  Lynchburg  road;  the  second  and  sixth  to 
follow  the  enemy  north  of  the  river. 

"  '  U.  S.  Grant,  Lieutenant- General. 
*' '  Official— E.  S.  Parker,  Lieut.- Colonel,  and  A.  A.  A.  G.^ 

"  Striking  in  at  '  Prospect  Station,'  about  12  m.,  thence 
following  the  twenty-fourth  corps  toward  Appomattox 
Court  House,  bivouacking  the  next  morning  about  2  a.  m. 
within  about  two  miles  of  the  above  place,  having  marched 
a  distance  of  twenty-nine  miles.  The  march  from  Prospect 
Station  was  very  slow  and  tedious,  the  road  being  ob- 
structed by  the  repeated  and  long  halts  of  the  twenty- 
fourth  corps. 

"April  9th — The  corps  moved  at  4  A.  m.,  reaching 
General  Sheridan's  headquarters  near  Appomattox  Court 
House  about  6  a.  m.,  very  soon  after  it  was  reported  that 
the  cavalry  were  heavily  engaged  and  hard  pressed.  The 
tw'enty-fourth  corps  w^as  moving  out,  when  the  second 
division  under  General  Ayres  moved  on  a  parallel  line 
rapidly  toward  the  firing.  A  message  was  received  from 
General  Sheridan  through  his  aide.  Captain  Martin,  that 
the  enemy  was  pressing  back  the  cavalry.  General  Ayres 
immediately  pushed  forward  his  division  at  double  quick, 
and  deployed  the  one  hundred  and  ninetieth  and  one 
hundred  and  ninety-first  Pennsylvania  volunteers,  under 


LIFK    OF    MAJOr.-GEXERAL   SHERTDAN.  191 

Colonel  Pattee,  as  skirmishers,  (they  being  armed  with 
the  Spencer  rifle,)  and  the  rest  of  the  division  in  two  lines 
of  battle.  The  lirst  division  under  General  Bartlett,  came 
^  up  on  the  right  and  formed  two  lines  of  battle,  with  the 
one  hundred  and  lirty-tifth  Pennsylvania,  a  portion  of  the 
one  hundred  and  ninety-eighth  Pennsylvania,  and  the  one 
hundred  and  eighty-fifth  New  York  Volunteers,  as  a 
skirmish  line.  All  immediately  moved  forward  and  at- 
tacked the  enemy,  pushing  him  back,  and  driving  both  the 
infantry  and  artillery  from  the  hills,  westward  through  the 
town,  taking  a  number  of  prisoners,  several  wagons, 
caissons  and  limbers.  A  portion  of  the  skirmish  line  had 
entered  the  town,  being  strongly  supported  by  our  lines 
of  battle,  when  a  message  was  received  from  General 
Sheridan  that  hostilities  would  be  suspended,  as  General 
Lee  was  about  to  surrender. 

"  Although  a  battle  was  expected  at  this  point,  and 
orders  had  been  carefully  given  by  staff  officers  for  the 
divisions  to  keep  well  closed  up,  through  some  unaccount- 
able mistake  or  neglect  on  the  part  of  the  commander  of 
the  third  division,  it  failed  to  follow  the  column,  and  did 
not  move  until  an  officer  had  been  specially  despatched  for 
it- to  move  up,  and  did  not  reach  its  proper  position  until 
after  hostilities  for  the  day  had  ceased. 

*'  In  conclusion,  to  show  more  concisely  the  part  taken 
in  the  short  campaign  by  the  corps,  I  would  state  that  our 
killed  and  wounded  amount  to,  officers,  eighteen  killed, 
one  hundred  and  three  wounded  ;  enlisted  men,  two 
hundred  and  forty-five  killed,  one  thousand  five  hundred 
and  fifty-three  wounded — missing,  five  hundred  and  forty- 
six.  Total,  two  thousand  four  hundred  and  sixty-five. 
The  number  of  prisoners  captured  was  one  hundred  and 
eighty-seven  officers,  four  thousand  two  hundred  and 
eighty-seven  men  ;  total,  tfour  thousand  four  hundred  and 
seventy-four. 

"  Too  much  praise  cannot  be  given  both  officers  and 
men  for  the  cheerfulness  exhibited  through  the  long 
marches,  and  the  many  privations  and  hardships  that  had 
to  be  endured. 

"  I  beg  to  call  the  especial  attention  of  the  major-gen- 
eral commanding  to  Brevet  Major-Generals  Ayres  and 
Bartlett,   and   Brigadier-General    Chamberlain,  for  their 


192  LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

promptness,  efficiency  and  zealousness  in  the  execution 
of  all  orders. 

"  To  my  stafif,  both  personal  and  corps,  my  thanks  are 
due  for  their  patience,  alacrity  and  cheerfulness  in  the 
discharge  of  all  their  duties. 

"  A  list  of  casualties,  numerical  and  tabular,  has  already 
been  forwarded. 

"  lam.  Colonel,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  Charles  Griffin, 
^^  Brevet  Major- General  Commanding.  "^^ 


♦  >■  ^  ■«  » 


CHAPTER    XIY. 

CONCLUSION. 

In  the  summer  of  1865  General  Sheridan  was  placed 
in  command  of  the  important  department  in  Texas,  bor- 
dering on  the  lines  of  Mexico,  with  his  headquarters  in 
the  city  of  New  Orleans. 

The  position  of  the  army  of  General  Sheridan  during 
the  summer  of  1865  is  described  by  a  correspondent  wri- 
ting from  Brownsville,  Texas,  as  follows  : 

The  "  Army  of  Observation,"  ordered  to  the  Rio  Grande, 
has  reached  its  destination,  and  dispositions  have  been  made 
for  its  present  occupancy  of  the  frontier,  extending  from 
a  point  a  few  miles  above  this  place  to  the  island  of 
Brazos. Santiago.  The  latter  is  for  the  present  the  base 
of  supplies,  and  is  occupied  by  the  third  division  (recently 
organized)  of  the  twenty-fifth  corps.  Brevet  Brigadier- 
General  A.  G.  Draper  commanding.  The  first  division, 
under  Brevet  Major-General  Giles  A.  Smith,  is  stationed 
here.  The  second,  commanded  by  Brevet  Brigadier-Gen- 
eral Jackson,  is  at  White  Ranch,  between  this  point  and 
Brazos. 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENEHAL   SHERTDAN".  193 

Several  changes  took  place  in  the  army  of  observation 
during  the  year.  At  the  time  alluded  to  the  chief  interest 
clustered  around  Matamoras.  This  city  is  situated  upon 
the  opposite  side  of  the  river  from  Brownsville,  v^^as  the 
great  depot  for  cotton  upon  its  arrival  within  the  domain 
of  Maximilian  ;  and  its  prosperity  was  increased  to  an 
almost  fabulous  extent  thereby.  But  in  poor  distracted 
Mexico,  the  prosperity  of  its  people  is  not  the  prosperity 
of  the  State.  While  the  Mexican  is  inherently  patriotic, 
and  loves  his  country,  the  constant  state  of  insecurity  in 
which  he  lives  makes  him  indifferent  to  every  thing  but 
his  own  immediate  success,  and  the  citizen  takes  no  inter- 
est in  extending  and  beautifying  his  city;  and  the  agri- 
culturist is  content  with  raising  the  little  necfMsary  for 
the  immediate  sustenance  of  himself  and  family,  and  cares 
not  to  improve  his  land,  from  which  at  any  moment  he 
may  be  driven  forth.  As  the  natural  result  of  this,  Mex- 
ican cities  are  low,  mean  and  dirty,  in  appearance  and  in 
fact ;  and  the  greater  portion  of  the  farm  lands  are  cov- 
ered with  the  rank  vegetation  of  the  chaparral  and  the 
prairie.  Previous  to  the  close  of  the  war  large  amounts 
of  goods  of  every  description  were  brought  to  this  city  in 
anticipation  of  its  continuance,  and  in  consequence,  upon 
the  arrival  of  our  troops,  the  market  on  the  American  side 
being  closed,  the  supply  far  exceeded  the  demand,  and 
goods  fell  below  the  wholesale  prices  in  New  York.  The 
presence  of  a  large  body  of  troops  in  the  vicinity  has 
again  increased  these  prices  to  the  old  standard,  though 
more  in  consequence  of  the  anticipated  market  than  of  j 
present  sales. 

The  city  is  occupied  at  present  by  about  three  thousand 
imperialist  troops,  some  three  hundred  of  whom  are  Aus- 
trians  and  the  remainder  natives.  Though  thus  protected, 
Matamoras  is  virtually  beseiged  by  three  or  four  hundred 
liberals,  said  to  be  commanded  by  Cortinas. 


194  LIFE   OF  MAJOR-GENKRAL   SHERIDAN. 

Subsequent  to  the  surrender  of  Kirby  Smith,  the  rebels 
at  this  point  sold  to  the  imperialists  across  the  river  a 
battery  of  six  pieces  (which  had  been  in  use  at  this  point) 
for  seventeen  thousand  dollars.  This  fact  becoming 
known,  their  return  was  demanded  by  General  Steele, 
commanding  the  troops  on  the  Rio  Grande.  The  ques- 
tion was  referred  to  Maximilian,  who  directed  the  demand 
to  be  complied  with,  and  the  guns  were  brought  over  and 
parked  upon  the  parade  ground  near  the  site  of  Fort 
Brown  at  the  southern  side  of  Matamoras. 

Reports  of  the  unsettled  condition  of  affairs  on  the 
frontier  were  not  believed  at  the  headquarters  of  the  em- 
pire, and  Senor  Portella,  one  of  Maximilian's  officials, 
was  recently  sent  to  Matamoras  to  examine  and  report 
thereon.  It  is  stated,  on  excellent  authority,  that  in  his 
report  he  declared  matters  even  worse  than  had  been 
represented,  and  it  is  anticipated  that,  as  the  result  of 
his  report,  a  large  force  will  be  sent  to  the  frontier. 

The  secret  police  in  the  various  cities  of  the  empire 
are  excessively  active  and  vigilant,  and  any  person  re- 
porting news  unfavorable  to  the  imperialists  runs  a  great 
risk  of  being  arrested,  and  all  parties  are  extremely  reti- 
cent on  this  account.  Merchants  and  other  business  men 
in  Matamoras,  receiving  letters  from  their  correspondents 
and  agents  in  the  interior,  state  that  little  or  nothing  is 
said  in  them  in  reference  to  political  matters,  for  fear  of 
annoyance  on  the  part  of  the  government. 

We  cannot  make  a  more  fitting  close  to  these  authentic 
records  of  Sheridan,  than  by  inserting  the  following 
Poem,  by  George  H.  Boker,  Esq.,  who  has  rendered  such 
efficient  service  to  the  country  by  his  gifted  lyre,  and  by 
his  labors  as  secretary  of  that  eminently  patriotic  associ- 
ation, the  "Philadelphia  Union  League": 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERTDAX.  195 


CAVALRY    SHERIDAN. 

•  BY   GEORGE    H.    BOKER. 
I. 

Sheridan,  Sheridan,  Cavalry  Sheridan! 
Him  of  the  horses  and  sabres  I  sing. 

Look,  how  he  drove  them ! 

Look,  how  he  clove  them ! 
Sabred,  belabored,  confused  and  confounded 
The  whole  rebel  rout,  as  they  fell  back  astounded 

At  the  fierce  stride  and  swin^ 

Of  our  men  galloping, 
Shouting  with  vengeance,  roaring  with  laughter, 
Cheering  with  victory,  as  they  plunged  after 
Sheridan,  Sheridan,  Cavalry  Sheridan  I 

II. 
Ah,  fair  Shenandoah,  thou  nest  of  the  robber, 
How  stands  the  count  with  thy  people  to-day  ? 

Where  is  the  fire  now, 

Showing  thy  ire  now, 
Blazing,  while  gazing  with  fear  and  amazement, 
As  on  it  crept  swiftly  from  door-post  to  easement, 

Weeping  with  pale  dismay. 

Stood  maids  and  matrons  gray? 

Has  it  not  spread  to  thy  end  of  the  valley  ? 

Did  it  not  follow  thee  in  thy  grand  sally, 

Sheridan,  Sheridan,  Cavalrv  Sheridan  ? 
12 


196  LIFE   OF    MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN". 

III. 

Chambersburg,    Chanibersburg,   smouldering    Chambers- 
burg  I 
Sit  in  thy  ruins,  content  with  thy  lot  I 
«  Lo,  thy  despoiler, 

Snared  by  the  toiler, 
Retreated  defeated — torn,  pierced,  slashed  with  gashes — 
And  what  thy  homes  were  now  their  bodies  are — ashes  ! 
0,  be  thy  ^-riefs  forgot ; 
Every  bright-laurelled  spot 
On  thv  fair  hill-sides  wait  matron  and  maiden 
With  chaplets  of  glory,  to  welcome  and  laden 
Sheridan,  Sheridan,  Cavalry  Sheridan  1 

IV. 

O,  Early,  mad  Early  !  thou  ruthless  invader. 
Where  are  the  troopers  who  followed  thy  raid  ? 

Look  at  their  corses  ! 

Soldiers  and  horses 
Whiten  and  brighten  with  bones,  shining  grimly, 
On  all  the  wide  plains  they  rode  over  so  trimly. 

What  has  the  raven  said  ? 

Where  has  the  red  fox  preyed  ? 
What  is  the  high-sailing  buzzard  declaring 
In  Richmond's  white  upturned  face  of  thy  warfaring, 
Sheridan,  Sheridan,  Cavalry  Sheridan? 

V. 

Sheridan,  Sheridan,  Cavalry  Sheridan, 

When  thou  shalt  come  to  thy  people  again, 


LIFE   OF   MAJOR-GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  197 

Crowns  we  shall  twine  for  thee  ; 

And  the  ripe  wine  for  thee, 
Flashing  and  splashing  from  goblet  and  breaker, 
Shall  whirl  round  the  lips  of  the  eloquent  speaker, 

As  he  essays  in  vain 

Homage  to  make  it  plain 
How  the  great  heart  of  the  jubilant  nation 
Swells  toward  thy  own  in  its  full  admiration, 
Sheridan,  Sheridan,  Cavalry  Sheridan  ! 


THE   END 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES 

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